


Kind of a Big Deal

by karina95



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Complicated Relationships, Eventual Smut, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Slow Build, Student Loki, Teacher Tony, Teacher-Student Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-05
Updated: 2018-07-06
Packaged: 2018-07-21 18:54:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Underage
Chapters: 19
Words: 49,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7399588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/karina95/pseuds/karina95
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony works in a (not) regular high school as a (totally not) regular teacher. He's (kind of) happy with his life, managing (almost sucessfully) to balance working as a teacher and being the owner of Stark Industries in his free time. A snarky (brilliant) and annoying (attractive) Loki is not something he needs in his life (but he totally does).</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, everyone. So, this is my first published fic in a lo-ong time (and first one on ao3). I just have to say that I love the student-teacher relationships with these two, so I decided to tackle one fic myself. So without further ado, enjoy!

It was morning. Monday morning to be precise. No doubt about it, if the blaring alarm clock was anything to go by. Mornings were the worst, so good thing Tony hadn’t gone to sleep at all. Instead, he was tinkering in the workshop, as per usual, has been since… well, who keeps tabs on these things nowadays?

 

‘Jarv, turn that thing off. And you! Stop it! You, you… Ah, fuck it.’

 

The man was bent over a worktable, elbow deep inside a heap of metal and wires that was supposed to be a service bot. Maybe do some cleaning around the house, perhaps breakfast, but he’d be happy if he got it to make coffee. Real coffee, like Tony liked it. He was picky about his coffee. But right now it was only violently vomiting oil from all kinds of impossible places and making wild movements, causing Tony’s fingers to cut open on the sharp edges of the metal.

 

‘Sir, it is already 7:30. I really must insist you leave the lab if you are to arrive on time.’

 

Tony winced as another drop of blood emerged from a fresh cut.

 

‘Oh. Right. September the first. It was June yesterday! What happened to the summer break, Jarv?’

 

‘I believe you spent it all in the laboratory. Or consuming deplorable amounts of alcoholic beverages and conveying a negative impression to the public in the process, Sir.’

 

Was Tony imagining, or was the AI’s tone suddenly disapproving? Probably imagining it.

 

‘Thanks sweetheart. Don’t know what I’d do without you. You’re like the wife I never wanted and the nanny I never needed.’

 

‘Thank you, Sir. It is, after all, in my programming.’

 

Tony smiled to himself, shaking his head in disbelief.

 

‘You are one sassy bitch Jarvis, you know that?’

 

All he got in reply was a (disapproving?) silence. He swore sometimes that the computer had a personality of its own. It actually wouldn’t have surprised him if he found out one day that Jarvis had somehow acquired a sentinent mind of his own. Leave it to Tony Stark to bring life to a machine.

 

‘Alright, I’ll go wash up. Wouldn’t be appropriate to be late on the first day of school now, would it?’

 

Tony carefully extracted his hands from the mess of wires and reached for the white rag on the closeby counter, first running it over his sweaty face, then swiping the oil and blood from his hands.

 

‘And you,’ he pointed towards the mess on the workbench ‘better be here when I get back. No excuses! Keep an eye on him, Jarvis.’

 

‘Certainly, Sir.’

 

Tony threw the dirty rag back on another counter by the wall and ran up the stairs two at a time. The sun was already up and bathing the livingroom in soft autumn light. The way it reflected off the chandelier up under the high ceiling, making little rainbows dance on the polished surfaces. Beautiful little things, really, all of which Tony was blind to, as he headed straight towards his bedroom upstairs, stretching his arms up over his head and cranking his neck, working out the tension gathered by leaning over a table for two hours straight. Or maybe it was 4? 6? Again, who’s keeping count?

 

A one quick shower later Tony walked back into his bedroom, grabbed a cup of coffee from the dresser (yes, he has a coffeemaker in his bedroom, thank you) and stood in front of the mirror, ruffling his hair with some product for his trademark just-got-out-of-bed-but-I’m-still-sexy-as-hell look and ran a hand down his moderately toned body. Raising his eyebrows, he nodded.

 

‘Not bad, Tony, not bad at all.’

 

He wouldn’t exactly call it vanity, but there were times he liked to admire the fruits of his hard work. Slipping on his jeans, he started buttoning up the dress shirt.

 

‘Is four buttons too much? Yes, definitely. Better make it three, just in case,’ he mumbled to himself, leaving the last few buttons unfastened.

 

Grabbing the shoes from the shelf, he sprayed on some perfume and took one of the nicer watches  and a pair of sunglasses with him. It wasn’t that he was anxious about the first day of school – it wasn’t his first rodeo – but he still liked to get there on time on the first of September, it was kind of symbolic. Sure, he still ended up being late on the other times more often than not, and sometimes gave the class some half-assed assignment when he was hungover or had pulled an all-nighter in the lab. But director Fury knew that Tony was a great teacher who managed to involve all the students in his class, and it didn’t hurt that Tony also happened to be the instructor for school’s robotics team and he did it all practically for free. What would a man of Tony’s calibre do with a teacher’s salary? Ridiculous.

\-----------------

 

On the way to the school Tony stopped by the small pastry shop to grab a large coffee to go and managed to park his white Audi Spyder (yeah, he was going for flashy, so what?) in front of the school with still 15 minutes to spare. He pocketed his keys and sipped on his coffee, casually stepping into the teacher’s lounge. It was bustling with people, some adding finishing touches to their PowerPoint presentations, some looking over their lesson plans, but most of them were busy talking with fellow teachers, discussing summer and plans for the coming school year. Tony quickly scanned the room and found his favourite science teacher sitting under a window in the back corner eating a bagel.

 

‘Hey Banner, what’s up?’

 

It wasn’t exactly like they hadn’t seen each other all summer, Bruce was the only teacher Tony regularly kept in touch with, having a few beers and discussing science-related topics with him was nothing uncommon.

 

‘Hey Tony,’ he glanced at the large clock hanging on the wall behind him and raised his eyebrows. ‘Surprised to see you here so early. Thought I was already running late spotting you here,’ he said jokingly, allowing a small smile to form on his lips. ‘So, how’s the robot you’re working on?’

 

Tony slumped next to Bruce on the sofa and let out a long suffering sigh – not unlike the sigh that parents do when they are going to talk about a particularly poorly-behaving child.

 

‘Yeah, this thing has a mind of its own,’ he said, holding up his cut-up hands. ‘Thought I was getting somewhere with it, but now it seems I have to rewrite most of the programming and do some rewiring, otherwise it’s not gonna work.’

 

Bruce nodded sympathetically. ‘Need a second pair of hands?’

 

‘Thanks, but I think I’ve got it covered. Wouldn’t mind a cold beer and some stake after school though,’ he said with a grin. He knew Bruce wouldn’t turn him down. ‘Maybe even invite Capitan Sweatpants and that hot piece of what’s-her-name.’

 

‘You mean Maria?’

 

‘Yeah, sure. What you say, man?’

 

Bruce pretended to think things over, stalling by cleaning his glasses with the edge of his shirt, then putting them back on. ‘Sure Tony. But I’ve gotta go, the bell’s about to ring.’

 

He stood up from the couch, gathered his papers and the pastry wrapping and patted Tony on the shoulder as he walked past him toward the door. Tony propped his feet up on the table and pulled out his phone with his right hand, sipping coffee with the left.

\----------------- 

 

Tony walked into his first class of the day a few minutes after the bell – fashionably late he liked to call it. First thing he threw his leather jacket over the armrest of his chair, then took the sunglasses from his hair and placed them, along with his laptop, on the large table in front of the class. Tony walked in front of the class and raised both his hands up for a moment, beckoning the class to settle.

 

‘Settle down now, guys. I know you’re all excited to be back in school, more precisely, in my classes, so let’s get stated, shall we?’

 

He clapped his hands together and flashed the class a cocksure smile, letting his eyes roam over the first row, consisting solely of dreamy-eyed girls in short skirts. He winked at one of them and turned to write on the chalkboard. Everyone knew Tony was hot (especially Tony himself), and everyone knew he was also kind of a flirt – a wink here, a sexy smile there. Wasn’t exactly a surprise that half the girls and some of the boys had the hots for him. But everyone also knew that seducing him was kind of impossible. There had been a few students brave enough to try and take on the challange, but all of them had to taste the bitter pill of rejection. Still didn’t stop the girls in the class batting their eyelashes at him and showing off their legs every chance they got.

 

‘Now, first things first. As you may or may not recall, I am Mr. Stark to you in this classroom. And also outside of it, for that matter.’ He wrote his name on the chalkboard in capital letters and proceeded to slowly underline it three times.

 

‘As you all know I am not big on grading papers, so during this semester we will be having only two larger tests which will make up the majority of your grade. In addition to this, you will be graded, by me,’ he added, jabbing a thumb in his direction, ‘by your performance in this class. Any questions? No? Great. So let’s get started with our first topic of the year – differentials.’

 

After scribbling the word on the chalkboard, he finally turned around to face his class.

 

‘Now, what can you tell me about differentials? Anyone?’

 

He let his eyes wonder around, until his gaze locked with a strange pair of mesmerising green eyes – a pair he had never before seen in his class. The eyes were attached to a skinny boy with almost shoulder-length raven hair, creating a perfect contrast with his white milky skin. He appeared to be somewhat in deep thought, looking straight at Tony. He was one of the very few sitting in the last row.

 

Tony leaned against the front of his desk, crossing his hands over his chest.

 

‘What about you, student what’s-your-name, in the back row?’

 

Seemed like the kid snapped out of his haze as he blinked, then he asked with a low and a cool voice, raising a single groomed brow: ‘Yes?’

 

‘Mind telling me your name? Where did you come from? Why you’re in my class? Anything would do, really.’ Tony mimicked his raised eyebrow.

 

The boy in the back row let out a slow sigh, as if this whole ordeal was terribly inconvenient to him, but stood up all the same. All of 6'2" of him, as much as Tony could tell from the distance. Anyway, the kid was tall, taller than him by far. He was wearing grey slim jeans and a green button-up shirt with sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing the tattoos on his hands. His black hair was an artful mess, the hair falling in small waves, framing his perfectly angular face.

 

‘I moved here from England a few weeks ago and beginning today I will be attending this school, including your classes, Mister Stark,’ he let Tony’s name roll slowly off his tongue. ‘My name is Loki Laufeyson.’

_British, very posh_ , Tony thought to himself. He would have liked it if someone had warned him about the new kid. Then again, it was probably written on his attendance sheet and lesson plan, which he (obviously) didn’t bother to read.

 

‘Peachy. So what can you tell me about differentials, Houdini?’

 

The nickname earned him another raised eyebrow. Nicknaming the students in his class was usually something that Tony tried to avoid, but what can he say, the kid kind of looked like an otherworldly wizard. Plus his sharp nose reminded him a little of Houdini – so why not?

 

‘The differential represents a change in the linearization of a function. The total differential is its generalization for functions of multiple variables,’ Loki said in a bored manner, finishing with a devilish (flirty?) smirk.

 

So the kid knew a thing or two when it came to calculus. Tony was pleased, maybe even impressed. So he replied to Loki with a smirk of his own.

 

‘Well done. You may sit.’

 

As Tony carried on with his class, he couldn’t help but feel those intense eyes focus on him, not once turning away when their gazes met. It wasn’t uncommon for students to stare at him like this, but somehow these green eyes felt burning and heavy on him, he couldn’t quite place it. Intense was the only word for it.

 

After the lesson Tony busied himself by cleaning the chalkboard. When he was satisfied with the result, he sat on his chair and propped up his feet.

 

‘Huh, there you are, Loki Laufeyson. Whad’ya know?’

 

On the paper, which he had grabbed with him before he left the teacher’s lounge in the morning, stood the kid’s name in bold writing. There wasn’t much anything new on it – only that he was born in Norway, had attended some posh school in England and that he had a history of behavioural problems. Tony had no doubts about that – you could tell by only looking at him that the kid was trouble. What kind of trouble exactly, he wasn’t quite sure yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you have it - the first chapter. Let me know what you guys think, the comments are a huge motivator!  
> p.s. sorry for the spellling errors, I do try my best


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, update!

It was a bit chillier outside than what Tony was comfortable with, but he pulled on his worn woollen jacket and stepped closer to the grill. He wasn’t much of a cook in the kitchen, but he could grill a mean stake, that’s for sure. Steve and Maria Hill, the head of the English department (also called Fury’s right hand by nearly everyone in the school) were sitting near the table making smalltalk while Bruce stood a few steps away, slowly sipping from his bottle. It was nice and peaceful. Tony hadn’t always gotten along with Steve the gym class hero, but somewhere along the way things between them had settled down (probably a lot thanks to Steve’s big heart and forgiving nature), so now they even occasionally shared a beer and some nice conversation.

 

‘So, how was everyone’s first day of school?’ Steve finally piped up after their conversation with Hill had died down.

 

Tony rolled his eyes. Such a predictable topic.

 

‘You know, I can’t actually believe I’m saying this, but it was nice seeing all of my classes again after the long summer break. I actually missed school a little,’ Bruce replied.

 

‘Well, I already miss my summer vacation, thank you very much. I have a feeling that this year’s gonna be a killer on my already non-existent heart.’

 

‘What do you mean by that, Tony?’ Hill asked, her posture turning all business-y and eyes catching that watchful gleam in them, like she was trying to pull off some industrial-scale espionage.

 

‘Oh right, guess I forgot to tell you guys. I have a new kid in my class, he just spells trouble with a capital T. I mean really, the guy couldn’t look more ominous with that evil smirk of his even if he breathed fire and bleed some sort of dark liquid out of his pores.’ Now that was a mental image – he felt goosebumps forming all over his skin.

 

‘Oh yeah, he was in my chemistry class as well. Wasn’t paying any attention in class, just kept playing with his phone or staring out the window. Still somehow managed to complete all of the assigned work – gave him my first A+ of the year.’ Bruce finished off his beer and set the empty bottle slowly down on the wet grass.

 

‘Well, he’s got some brains, I’ll give him that. Hey Bruce, help yourself,’ Tony pointed towards the cooler box next to the grill.

 

‘I actually read his file.’ It was Maria’s time to shine. When it came to gossip about students, Maria Hill was your go-to guy. She could hit you with some serious cold hard facts, often followed by some rumours which she picked up from god knows where. That’s why Tony liked her – no bullshit, only the fat juicy gossip you asked for. ‘He was born in Norway, moved to England at the age 9, had been home-schooled before that. He’d always been what some might say a prankster, but few years ago his behaviour spiralled out of control, even had some trouble with the local authorities. Guess the family finally had enough, sent him to the US hoping he’d get his head straight I guess. I don’t have much information about his life after his arrival here, but I heard from a reliable source that he’s sharing an apartment with some older guy.’

 

She quickly took a sip of her wine to moisten her mouth, then tried to look nonchalant as she studied the other’s reactions.

 

‘You know, I hardly think it’s any of our business to be talking about that young man like this behind his back. I’m sure he has some good reasons to be acting the way he is.’

 

‘Well, thank you for this kind reminder, Capitan Morality. Anyways, speaking of bad behaviour, you guys wouldn’t _believe_ the kind of girl I met at the bar once. She had one of those big-‘

 

‘Tony, please just stop right there. You know we-‘ Steve made a circle motion with his index finger, involving Maria and Bruce, ‘don’t want to hear about the poor souls that let you mislead them into… (cue for the blush) spending their time with you.’

 

Bruce managed to nod along with Steve’s words, at the same time awkwardly smoothening his brows meanwhile Maria looked a little disappointed over the loss of some fresh piece of gossip.

 

‘Fine then. But the stakes are done, so come at it.’

\-----------------------

 

 

The next morning Tony actually managed to make it to school on time. His two first lessons with the Juniors came and went pretty peacefully and in a pleasant haze of soothing maths and some banter with the students. He spent the lunch break in his class, working on some coding and drinking coffee. By the time he finally managed to rip his gaze from the computer screen, most of the students of his next class had already found their seats.

 

Oh, right. The Seniors.

 

Tony opted for killing time until the bell rang, checking his email and glancing at a few documents while he was at it. Finally he stood up and let his eyes roam over the classroom. Huh. Green-eyes wasn’t there.

_Skipping class already, it seems,_ Tony mused. Without bothering with any further headcounting, he handed the class some individual work and continued reading the documents Pepper had sent him, occasionally answering some questions and scribbling explanations on the chalkboard.

\-----------------------

 

 

On Friday, Tony’s favourite (and only) new student was back in school. He didn’t comment on the kid’s absence, cause frankly, he didn’t give a damn. Live and let live, and all that other bullshit.

 

After he dismissed the class, Tony called the kid to talk to him. A simple ‘Laufeyson’ was enough, as the kid was already focused on him anyways.

 

‘Oh, it’s Loki to you, Mister Stark.’

 

The way he said his name might even been a bit of a turn-on for Tony if he had heard it in a bar or a nightclub from someone’s lips he was hoping to spend the night with.

 

‘Well then, Loki, I need this by Monday,’ Tony said, handing Loki a sheet of paper and getting back to reading the documents on his computer.

 

The kid eyed the outstretched paper for a second and then returned his gaze to Tony, allowing it to roam over the body visible from behind the table before looking him in the eyes once more.

 

‘It’s an independent work sheet from Tuesday, as you decided to not grace us with your wonderful presence that day.’

 

‘Well, so you think my presence is wonderful?’ Loki asked in a teasing tone. Tony managed to keep the smirk from his face, but only barely. He’s sure Loki noticed it too.

 

‘And what happens when I won’t return this on time… or at all?’

 

‘No one’s missed a deadline with my assignments so far. Guess you’ll be the first to find out.’

 

That earned him another smirk. ‘That sounds quite interesting. And I _do_ like being the first to try something… new.’

 

This time Tony let a short laugh escape him. ‘I know for a fact that you won’t be the first one to solve it, but I’m pretty sure you haven’t seen this worksheet before. Get it back here Monday before class, Laufeyson.’

 

Like diffusing a bomb, honestly.

 

Loki took the worksheet from Tony’s still outstretched hand and headed for the door.

 

‘It’s just Loki,’ he called over his shoulder before disappearing to the hallway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I know, it's a short one. I have the next one almost finished, but it didn't sit right as one larger chapter. I'll try adding it mabye later in the week (?).  
> Secondly, thank you all for your kind kudos and an extra-large thank you for all the comments, I love reading what you guys think!


	3. Chapter 3

Friday night was the teacher’s annual start-of-the-year party. Usually Tony preferred staying home to a long night of suffering generic music and dull people he didn’t really care about, but this year Bruce somehow guilt-tripped him into going. And boy was he glad for it. The night had started out like any other party with responsible people – everyone standing at the edge of the dance floor, carefully sipping their drinks, making smalltalk and trying to make it look like they didn’t need alcohol to have a good time with some co-workers (when in reality most of them couldn’t wait to get plastered so they could make total fools out of themselves out on the dance floor).

 

Thankfully, as the night progressed, people started loosening up a little. But still, Tony was bored out of his mind.

 

Until something happened. The _happening_ (at least that’s what Tony’s labelled it in his mind. No one can judge him there for being unoriginal or lacking imagination).

 

The gym was decorated with some large red ribbons from last year’s Christmas party and there were some bundles of balloons tied together to make the large room feel a bit more cosy or something (?), Tony didn’t really care why they were there. But oh, they were _there_.

 

Then, all of a sudden, the largest bunch of balloons were set free and raising up towards the ceiling. Some teacher later told Tony how someone had bumped into Ally, the Geography teacher, causing her to trip, setting the balloons (somehow) free.

 

Anyway, that’s when Tony saw the flying balloons with his own eyes. 9 helium-filled balloons. Raising up towards the ceiling. Right where the old spotlights were illuminating the gym. The extremely old and extremely hot spotlights. Tony knew what was gonna happen. But this time, he was very- _veeery_ wrong.

 

The balloons hit the spotlights and exploded. Full on motherfucking _exploded_. Into a small fireball. Tony knew – he _knew_ – there wasn’t enough heat for the helium to combust, but combust it did.

 

_Huh._

 

After that – you guessed it – panic ensued.  The exploding balloons set fire to the nearby ribbon, which miraculously fell down, landing safely on an empty spot on the floor. It was director Fury that got there first, using his thick-soled Sunday shoes to stomp out the fire, teeth bared, sweat already beading on his forehead. That was a (hilarious) look Tony will never forget.

 

A few seconds later, the sprinklers turned on. Everything got wet. Like seriously, everything. All the teachers tried finding cover – some scurried under the tables, others grabbed the larger plates from the table to hide under. The smarter ones, who were closer to the doors, ran into the hallways. And Tony just stood next to the wall under the artificial rain, laughing his ass off.

 

After the fire department arrived, Tony pushed his way to the front, claiming to be ‘one of the main eye witnesses’ or whatever. He told the story everyone knew – how the balloons were accidentally set free and how the old lights were heated so hot that after the breaking of the balloons, the escaping gas just combusted. The falling ribbons managed to land in the right place and really, it was nothing short of a miracle no one had been hurt and the rest of the school had stayed dry. He was a scientist, so he must have known what he was talking about.

 

Only Bruce looked a little dubious, but in the end decided not to say anything.

 

He told everyone one story, which, theoretically, _might_ had been correct, but the truth was that Tony knew something was fishy. _Someone_ bumped into the lady-teacher, just _setting_ the balloons free, not to mention the helium actually _exploding_ when _by chance_ coming into contact with the spotlights under the ceiling. Not to mention the falling ribbon, in flames none the less, falling exactly to the _one place_ in the entire gym that was clear? The thing just screamed sabotage and he had a pretty good idea who was behind all of this.

 

So why didn’t he tell anyone of this? Surely there had to be some proof to back up his theory if someone started snooping around. To tell the truth, Tony wasn’t entirely sure himself. But in the end, there was no harm done (except for some water damage to the gym floor) and he, for one, would have said it was the most fun teacher’s party yet.

 

 

Monday morning found Tony in his favourite bakery, buying two sandwiches in addition to his usual extra black, extra strong coffee with one sugar to go, honey (and a wink). The clock on his wrist read 07:52. His first class started at 8:30. Some might say Tony was aiming to get to school early, but he’d just say he didn’t feel like eating breakfast at home today (even though he didn’t eat breakfast usually anyway). Even the cute girl at the register looked surprised over Tony’s early arrival.

 

And so if the man was 25 minutes early, no one was there to say anything about it.

 

Or maybe someone.

 

He had only managed to sit down and take a sip of his coffee when green-eyes strolled in like he owned the place (what, he was allowed to call his students any way he liked in the privacy of his own thoughts).

 

‘My, here so early, mister Stark? That’s new.’

 

‘How would you know, you’ve only been here for a week,’ he said, wiping his mouth and going for the bag of sandwiches in his bag. ‘And can’t you knock?’

 

‘Well why’d you leave the door open then? Or are you expecting someone else,’ Loki asked innocently, very well knowing the answer.

 

Tony thought about potential comebacks for a second, then deemed them all inappropriate.

 

‘You got me there,’ he said, taking a huge bite out of his sandwich. ‘So, you bring me the… sheet?’

 

He took a quick look at Tony’s stuffed mouth that managed to conjure up a small smile on Loki’s lips. No doubt there was mayo somewhere.

 

‘Yes.’

 

He started pulling out the papers from the bag hanging over his shoulder. It was a miracle he understood a single word the teacher mumbled with his mouth full of bread.

 

_Classy, Tony._

 

While Loki was occupied, Tony took a moment to check him out.

 

-No! Not check him out, just _look_ at him. Jesus.

 

He must say, the kid was good looking. For a 17-year old boy. All tall and lean and somehow elegant. You could sense the skinny jeans –washed blue this time- he always seemed to be wearing hung way low on his hips, but the dress shirts he wore never revealed any real skin. The sleeves on the shirt were rolled up again, showing the ink on his forearms. The colour for today was dark red. Kinda reminded Tony of his bedroom curtains. After half a second of consideration he decided he liked it.

 

Tony’s eyes wandered back to the kid’s tattoos. Wasn’t he a little young to have them? He wanted to ask about them and take a closer look, but he feared it might be a little too personal of a question – Loki didn’t strike him as a guy that’d do anything without a reason.

 

‘Here,’ he said, handing Tony the worksheets. A little crumpled, but hey, whatever.

 

Tony took the papers from his hands to take a look. ‘Wow, with an actual pen and everything,’ he joked. The kid had ridiculously elegant handwriting.

 

‘What, you’d think I’d come here if I hadn’t finished the work, mister Stark?’ A small smirk and an uplifted eyebrow. He was obviously enjoying himself.

 

‘Wouldn’t put it past you, Laufeyson.’ Maybe Tony was enjoying himself too, a little.

 

‘Loki. Do you mind, I’m starving,’ he said, motioning with his head toward the other sandwich, sitting abandoned on Tony’s desk.

 

‘Yeah, sure. Knock yourself out.’

 

Tony just scribbled an A on the sheet. Why was he even bothering to read the thing, he already saw all of the answers were correct anyway just by glancing at it. Instead, he tossed the papers into one random drawer, threw his legs on the table and put a smug look on his face.

 

‘So, do anything interesting this weekend, hm? How about, I dunno, maybe Friday evening? Went to any parties?’

 

Loki knew what Tony was talking about, he could see it in the kid’s eyes.

 

At first, all he got in return was a sharp smile. Loki looked him straight in the eyes and took a slow bite out of the sandwich he’d picked up.

 

‘Oh, I don’t know. I guess it depends on why you want to know, _mister Stark_.’

 

The way Loki stressed his name left no doubt on what he was asking.

 

_What are you going to do about it?_

 

Tony flashed him a (what he thought was a) calming smile. He really had no intention of ratting Loki out.

 

‘No reason. Let’s just call it a friendly curiosity. Somehow I can’t shake the feeling we may have been at the same party, although I don’t remember exactly seeing you there.’

 

Loki sent Tony another sharp smile, seemingly satisfied with the answer.

 

‘Well, I wouldn’t possibly imagine how I would have been able to get into the _teacher’s_ party on Friday night, held at the school’s poorly ventilated and overdecorated gymnasium, if this is what you’re referring to. Although I have it on _very_ good authority that you, mister Stark, were seen standing near the south-east wall, soaking wet, laughing at your co-workers after a… quite unfortunate accident with the- balloons, were they?’

 

It was almost physically impossible to keep the smirk off his face this time. The laughter also reflected in his voice, which he tried to keep as level and serious as he could. Goddamn diplomat. A goddamn _smug_ diplomat.

 

‘Well, that’s a shame. It was pretty entertaining, for me at least.’

 

‘Oh, I certainly believe you.’

 

First of the other students were already taking their seats. Tony hadn’t really noticed the time passing. Loki calmly finished his sandwich still standing in front of Tony’s desk, then wiped off his mouth and hands with a napkin he found on the table.

 

‘But next time, mister Stark, I would recommend you reconsider your choice of shirts when there is a strong possibility of getting wet,’ he leaned a bit closer over the table, as if picking up the teacher’s empty coffee cup and whispered, ‘ _the last one was_ very _see-through_.’

 

Loki stood up straight, crumpling the paper bag for the sandwiches and stuffing everything in the empty coffee cup. He was looking at Tony, perhaps waiting for a flustered look. Whatever the case, all he got was a broad grin as Tony got up and grabbed the chalk from the small pencil holder on the table.

 

‘Hey, with a hot bod like this, I’ve got nothing to be ashamed of.’

 

Maybe if Tony puffed out his chest a little during his statement, well, who would blame him? He didn’t bother motioning Loki to sit, just turned around and headed towards the chalkboard. He literally _felt_ those green eyes raking their way up and down his –hot bod-.

 

_That was uncalled for, Tony._

 

But he always was that kind of do-now-think-later kind of guy.

 

‘Mm, quite.’

 

_Yup, totally uncalled for._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enyjoyed this one, because I'm not sure when I'll be able to upload the next chapter as my whole birthday-fiasko is coming up this weekend. Mabye later next week. Anyway, thanks for reading and let me know what you think so far ;)


	4. Chapter 4

‘Listen, I know that they’re opposed to the idea, being the conservative assholes they are, but seriously, it’s a good idea. Actually it’s the best idea I’ve had for a long time. And don’t make me stress it again how it’s still _my_ fucking company.’

 

After a 20 minutes of arguing through the phone, Tony had given up on tinkering with the dismantled car engine and opted for pacing back and forward, occasionally wildly gesturing at the empty air and pulling on his hair.

 

‘Tony, I know that you’re trying to do the right thing and taking a step towards a better tomorrow, but you have to understand, your concept is still relatively new. You haven’t done any extensive testing, not to mention how everywhere else large-scale alternative energy sources are still in their baby shoes. You can’t blame the board members for being cautious.’

 

‘Everyone else doesn’t know jack shit! I’ve tested it here! In my lab! It’s running my house, all my personal technology, I’m even working on integrating it in some of my cars like right fucking now! What do they mean it’s not tested?’

 

‘Tony, Tony, relax. You’ll give yourself an ulcer.’

 

‘Yeah, sorry, I know. But Pep, these guys wouldn’t know innovation if it hit them in their face! And I-, I just promised myself I’d do something differently.’

 

Tony felt he had just been deflated. He sunk on the old worn couch, feeling like his limbs had turned into lead.

 

After a small silence, Pepper asked ‘Tony, are you alright?’

 

Tony ran his hands through his hair, smoothing his beard and shook his head.

 

‘What? Yeah, no, I’m fine. But I mean, I’m still the major stockholder in SI, so hypothetically, I could still push this through, right?’

 

A long suffering (and slightly still worried) sigh.

 

‘ _Theoretically_ , yes. But we’ve been over this. You need their support, no matter how much you hate it. Things aren’t as stable as they used to be.’

 

He knew the woman was right.

 

‘How about this. Tomorrow, I’ll try and do as much lobbying with the board as I possibly can, and then maybe you’ll attend the 2 o’clock meeting tomorrow and work the old Stark charm, eh?’

 

Another hand through his hair.

 

‘Yeah. Yeah, alright. I’ll come in tomorrow.’

 

‘Great. But seriously Tony, how are things going? How’s school? I feel like you’ve cut yourself off from everything in the big city.’

 

That brought a small smile back onto his face. Somehow Pepper always managed to end a conversation on a positive tone.

 

‘Things are… good, I guess. Teaching’s fun, I have some really interesting and promising students. I like it.’

 

‘Great, that’s great, Tony. It’s good to see you’ve finally found yourself a hobby, I’m happy for you.’

 

‘Hey! I had hobbies before I started teaching, still do.’

 

There was no mistaking the fond exasperation in the woman’s voice. ‘I meant hobbies that aren’t self-destructive and a PR nightmare.’

 

That smile just wouldn’t budge from his face. Not that Tony was fighting it. He just rested his right ankle on the other knee, crossed his hands behind his head and stared up at the ceiling.

 

‘Yeah, well, I’m glad I’m not an inconvenience to you anymore, sweetheart.’

 

‘You mean _such_ an inconvenience,’ she joked. ‘Listen, come in tomorrow, talk to the board and then we’ll get a cup of coffee and something to eat afterwards, okay?’

 

‘Sure thing, Pep. See ya.’

 

Jarvis hung up the call as Tony slowly got up from the couch. The night was still young and he could have easily got some work done, but arguing with Pepper always somehow wore him out. So, sleeping sounded like a pretty good idea right now.

 

Hey J, lock up the lab, will you? ‘Think I’m hitting the hay.’

 

‘Of course, sir.’

 

He started heading upstairs.

 

Or maybe a shower first. That sounded like an even better idea. The reflection that stared at him from the lab glass doors looked pretty terrifying. And the smell emanating from his armpits seemed even more terrifying after a good whiff. Yes, definitely a shower.

 -------------------------

 

As it turned out, coffee and dinner with Pepper wasn’t happening. Tony felt like a zombie when he finally managed to make it home. At this point he was beyond tired. Sleeping today wasn’t even really an option.

 

‘J, get the lights. And coffee. At least three cups. In the lab.’

 

The meeting with the board hadn’t exactly gone according to plan. He got there half past two (through actual honest-to-god valid effort), hoping he would be free by five, leaving more than enough time for Pepper and him to have a nice dinner in some fancy restaurant, so that he’d still be home by eight. Ha-ha. The meeting had gone straight into the night, with only a few 10-minute breaks in between. By the time they finally called it a night it was almost 10 pm. Add another two-hour drive home – well, as mentioned, Tony felt like a zombie. At least it seemed as he’d made some progress with those assholes (board members) today.

 

‘I take it you’re planning on not sleeping today, sir?’

 

As no reply came, the AI added, ‘I shall at least prepare the bunk for you in the lab, sir.’

 

Why was it that Tony made Jarvis sound british again? Actually, come to think of it, Tony can’t remember adding that particular trait to Jay’s programming. Huh. But really, the accent wasn’t that bad. It was pleasant, one might even say. Pleasant like Loki’s accent. For example, of course. Boy, did green-eyes have a tongue on him. Sharp. Looking back on their shared conversation on Monday, he was in truth fun to talk with, he guessed. There weren’t that many people that could keep up with Tony, but Loki seemed like he could be one of those people. Wouldn’t mind sharing a beer with him sometimes.

 

Except for him, you know, being his student. And a minor.

 

Tony shared a quiet laugh in the solitude of his lab. Funny stuff.

 ---------------------

 

Oh dear lord. This particular Thursday morning was hard on Tony. After the night spent tinkering in the lab, he ended up dozing off at around 5 am. At least he had a decent place to crash, thanks to J’s foresight. Bless him.

 

Right now it was 10:12, he was running only on three cups of coffee and sheer determination (and maybe two fingers of whiskey). Tony’s progress through the school corridors was slow, his feet dragging and head hung low. He had his sunglasses firmly in place to fend off the glaring light of the fluorescent lamps.

 

Raising his head for a second, he saw a familiar tall figure standing at the far end of the corridor. Green-eyes was leaning against the wall with his right side, examining Tony as he came closer.

 

‘Loki. Shouldn’t you be in class?’

 

The kid took Tony’s (slow) pace in stride.

 

‘Mister Stark. I could very well ask the same of you. Besides, I haven’t got any of your classes today.’

 

‘You come to school to only attend _my_ classes? Well, I’m flattered.’

 

‘You should be.’

 

Tony didn’t quite understand if the kid was joking or actually serious.

 

But (thankfully) Loki didn’t leave time for Tony to respond. ‘Had a rough night?’ he asked instead.

 

That amazing deduction brought a small smile on Tony’s face. He slowly pushed the sunglasses into his hair and squinted his eyes.

 

‘How’d you tell?’ He rubbed his free hand across his face, scratching his stubble.

 

‘Oh, I can read you like a book, mister Stark.’

 

That sounded a bit ominous.

 

‘And what’s that book read to you, then?’ Tony finally looked the kid in the eyes.

 

A small (mellow?) smile formed on Loki’s lips. ‘Right now it tells me you’re hungry.’

 

Loki pulled out a large green apple form god knows where and handed it to Tony. Normally he wouldn’t take stuff from his students, but he really was hungry. And it just so happened that green apples were his favourite.

 

And maybe he liked the kid a bit too.

 

‘Very Twilight,’ he took a large bite of his apple (yum), ‘but thanks.’

 

‘My pleasure.’

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, there you have it, another chapter. I know there isn't that much of Loki-Tony interaction, but I think that some context goes a long way. Besides, I have something pretty amazing planned for the upcoming chapters (in my own opinion). And thanks you again for the great feedback, all the kudos and comments, love them (and you guys) ;)


	5. Chapter 5

‘Lock the doors, J.’

 

For a man that hated routine, he was very persistent about one particular habit – getting his (additional) morning coffee at the small coffee shop on the way to school.

 

He had just parked the car and rounded the corner of the grey office building, when he caught a sight of Loki (déjà vu, anyone?) sitting in a chair on the terrace, basking in the early morning sun. It was impossible to say if the kid was watching him coming closer through the dark sunglasses or not, but if Tony were a betting man (which he was), he’d say Loki was currently eyeing him like a hawk its prey. Terrifying thought.

 

Tony took the seat across from him.

 

‘You know, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say I was being followed.’

 

Loki made a show of looking around. You could see he was raising is eyebrows in amusement behind his large glasses.

 

‘By who?’ A sip of (what Tony presumed was) his coffee.

 

Tony felt a smirk forming on his lips, mirroring the mischievous one on the student across form him.

 

After a small (comfortable) silence, Tony asked ‘So, come here often?’

 

The kid didn’t respond to his pick-up line (clearly sarcastic), only slowly pushed another take-away cup across the table. How could he have missed this before?

 

Tony eyed the cup questioningly, feeling his eyebrows raise towards his hairline.

 

Guess Loki sensed his scepticism, as he added with a reassuring smile ‘Coffee. Not poisoned. Was merely hoping to bribe you into accompanying me in walking to school, if you’d be so kind.’ Why was Tony getting a feeling that half of their conversation was taking place merely in form of different smiles? But anyway, (he hated to admit it,) it was working.

 

He shouldn’t do this, Tony knew. What he should do was politely refuse, gently push the coffee back in front of Loki and go on with his own business. Should, would. Instead, he picked up the cup and motioned with his head towards the park (quickest way to school, not some romantic rendezvous). Loki afforded himself a quick pleased smile and stood up, following Tony who was already a few paces ahead. Trying to make it look like he wasn’t interested in what the kid was up to (he obviously was).

 

At first, they walked in companionable silence. Tony wasn’t worried someone from school might see them walking together or what kind of impression that might convey on some (although he should have). It was nice and peaceful, those early autumn mornings usually were. Sure, you could see some workers making their way to the large office buildings in downtown, but considering the time, most of them were already behind their desks. Which meant they had relative privacy.

 

‘See these squirrels jumping under the trees back there?’ he pointed towards an old oak tree some distance away, ‘In calm mornings like these, they climb down from the branches to drink the drops of dew gathered on the leaves below. I sometimes feed them nuts before school.’

 

It took some time, but after following Loki’s finger with his eyes, Tony finally managed to distinguish two or three brown creatures jumping on the leaves fallen leaves. ‘Oh yeah! Cute little fuckers, aren’t they?’ A rhetorical question, obviously. ‘Didn’t even know they were here.’

 

Somehow Tony didn’t think of Loki as the animal-feeder type. But now that he thought about it, he could picture green-eyes kneeling under that old tree, holding out his hand to a small ball of fur. Sounded a little adorable, even.

 

From the corner of his eye, he saw Loki take a sip from his cup, which reminded himself of the coffee the kid had bought for him.

 

‘Mm. How the hell did you know?’

 

The coffee was just how he usually bought it. Well, apart from being slightly cooler than the regular tongue-scalding hot.

 

A pleased smile. ‘I’m observant. Plus I asked the girl in the coffee shop. A… lovely lady, that Christine.’

 

Tony felt a weird sort of stabbing sensation in his gut he refused to label with a name (jealousy), convincing himself it was because Christy was _his_ coffee girl, not because of, well –something else-. And what the hell, it took him, Tony effing Stark two weeks to learn Christine’s name. Two weeks!

 

‘You watch it, Casanova, I’ve got dibs on that one.’

 

Although he was smiling, but he still felt that slight pang of not-that-thing, which now seemed to have worked it’s way up to his diaphragm. Pretty sure Loki would have seen it in his eyes ( _read you like a book_ ), but thank GOD for sunglasses.

 

‘Well, you shouldn’t trouble yourself with that, she’s really not my type.’ A quick glance in Tony’s direction. Even with his sunglasses on, Tony caught it.

 

He really shouldn’t have taken bait _so obvious_ , but he did anyway. Should have, could have. It was becoming a motto of his.

 

‘So what is?’ He asked anyway. _Fuck me._

 

Loki gave him a look that clearly said ‘ _don’t we both know the answer to that question already?_ ’ This time, Tony wasn’t going to say anything – a rare moment in which Tony Stark managed to tame his thoughtless tongue ( _must let J make a note of it somewhere. Also, a glass of the good scotch_ ).

 

‘Well, I fancy them little more… tougher. And sharper. Someone to keep up with me.’

 

Tony silenced himself with a big gulp of coffee. Thankfully (?) they were almost at the school.

 

‘What’s that?’ he motioned to the paper cup in the kid’s hand. He was trying to get the conversation back on (safer) track.

 

‘Tea.’

 

Tony let out a small laugh. ‘Tea? Seriously? You’re drinking warm leaf water in the mornings?’

 

That was not a good comment to make. He saw the way Loki’s mouth grew tense and his back a little rigid, gaze locked straight ahead. Tony knew green-eyes had a temper, you could sense it just by looking at him, but guess the kid really was like a minefield, you just never knew what would set him off.

 

‘Not everyone needs five cups of caffeine every morning to function properly.’ Ice cold.

 

‘Guess I owe you another cup of tea, then.’ Damage control. Tony was good at damage control (if he really tried).

 

‘You sure do.’ A small smirk was back on Loki’s face (whew).

 

‘Well, guess I’ll see you around then,’ Tony said and headed towards the side entrance of the school. It would have been weird if they had entered the school together (wouldn’t it?). Out of the corner of his eye he saw the kid’s smile widen a bit. (Maybe counted it as a small victory.)

 

Heading towards the teacher’s lounge, he kept playing the last bit of conversation over and over inside his head. _Guess I’ll see you around then_. How fucking stupid is that? He had a class with the seniors like the third period. See you around? His the fucking teacher! Of course he’ll see him. It didn’t sound at all clever (and flirty) like he wanted it to. Goddammit.

\-------------------

 

 

The class with the senior wasn’t actually that bad. Loki didn’t bring up any of the morning’s events (should have guessed it), just sat behind his table like a boss, occasionally texting someone (or so Tony thought) or asking random questions about the lesson he really didn’t need answers to.

 

After his last lesson of the day, Tony zipped up his jacket and headed outside, ready for the walk through the park (alone). Guess you could imagine his surprise when he glanced over to the teacher’s parking lot only to discover that every single one of the teacher’s cars were completely covered in bird poo. His first reaction was disgust, then he remembered again that his car wasn’t one of them. Relief. The third reaction was amusement. Then he had a brief second wave of relief that Bruce walked to school, fourth– regret (a little) that Steve did too. In the end, there was amazement. He wanted to know how and when Loki (obviously one of his doings) had managed to pull this one off.

 

Of course, he felt a small swell of pride that Loki deemed him special (could he say that?) enough to exclude him from his plans. Yes, he definitely owed green-eyes tea. And biscuits. Did brits eat biscuits with their tea? – They did on TV, anyway. So, biscuits it was.

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo! Another chapter, a monster chapter in my standards. Been waiting for this one for a long time, hope you love it as much as I

Tony was sitting behind his desk, feet propped up and the laptop resting on his thighs. He was trying to look professional – honestly trying - , but it was becoming increasingly difficult as the days progressed (okay, let’s be honest here – with each passing minute). Every time that he raised his gaze from the screen to check on the class, he got stuck on those damn green eyes, staring straight at him. And well, of course Tony had to stare him right back – such was the unwritten law of nature (who was the dominant one, who gave under the pressure). That, in itself, would have been fine, but Loki was making keeping a straight face a difficult task for his teacher. As if the half-unbuttoned shirt wasn’t somehow distracting enough, the way Loki kept biting at his lips and playing with the necklace around his neck, occasionally caressing his collar bones was disturbingly captivating. Perhaps in retrospect licking his lips and wiggling his eyebrows wasn’t exactly professional or the wisest of moves, as it somehow just seemed to add oil to an already uncontainable fire, seeming to set Loki off even more.

 

‘You done already, Laufeyson? Feeling bored, I see?’

 

The pleased smile that spread on Loki’s face after the warning squint of his eyes for his name was impossible to miss. Looked like he was just waiting to get acknowledged in front of the class, making him almost beam (from pride? Who knows with this guy).

 

‘On the contrary, Mr Stark. In fact, I’ve found a _fascinating_ problem on my hands.’

 

‘Oh really?’ This was way more fun that paperwork. ‘Care to share with the class, Loki?’

 

A few seconds of silence. Tony could see the kid was thinking about how far he should take this.

 

‘Sorry, but I’m not much of a sharer. I’d rather keep this one to myself.’

 

There were just too many ways this conversation could have turned south, so in the end Tony just smiled and shook his head briefly. Just when Loki started to open his mouth for a last retort, Tony silenced him with a finger pressed lightly to his lips. Loki smiled and mirrored the gesture, grazing his index finger with a little bite, after which he fished out his phone and started texting someone, still casting meaningful glances in his teacher’s direction (all of which Tony caught).

 

And the most difficult part of it all was that it had been going on all week – the looks, the small smiles and flirty looks. Tony discovered it was intervening with his work and he found himself dreading another lesson with the seniors. But the funny thing (the thing he didn’t quite admit to himself yet) was that he didn’t want it to stop either. It was fun – more fun he’d had in a long time (in classes) and it was transferring over to his everyday life, as if he had something to look forward to again, even if it was as trivial as another Maths class with green-eyes.

 

Thank god the kid had stopped stalking him at least. It would have been killer on his morale and self-discipline.

 

After lunch Tony ventured over to the school cafeteria to buy some Mars bars – all they had in the teacher’s lounge were boring stuff like dried bananas and granola bars. He was walking down the hallway back to his office, eating his chocolate bar and texting Rhodney about the night’s plans when a strange duo caught his attention from the corner of his vision. It was Loki with some scary-looking red haired girl sitting (very close) on the windowsill, seemingly discussing something terribly important. Curiosity instantly peaked, Tony thought about strolling over there to stick his nose into someone else’s business, but thought better of it. After all, it was a _scary-looking_ girl.

 

When he got closer, both of them stopped to look at Tony passing. Loki sent him a small secretive smile, while the girl was looking at him with those terrifyingly piercing eyes, as if she was reading his mind or assessing his worth or something equally silly (nervous laughter). Tony didn’t remember ever seeing her around the school and she was definitely not one of her own students. He would have remembered that look _no-problemo_. Maybe had heard some teacher or other speaking about a red-headed girl (possibly Hill), didn’t bother to tune in at the time. Boring. Inane. Unimportant.

 

Seemed interesting now.

 

He raised his eyebrows in ways of greeting and headed off to find the gossip master. As he passed, he heard the conspirative (definitely) exchange continue.

 

‘Hey, Hill! Who’s that red-haired chick out in the hall? Real scary-looking, maybe has a half-time job for the Russian government killing and interrogating people in dark cellars? You know the one?’

 

Maria looked confused and surprised. Didn’t happen every day that Tony Stark came to you, asking about someone.

 

‘What? Who? Out there in the hall?’

 

He started heading for the corridor to take a look, but Tony managed to jump between her and the door, effectively blocking her path.

 

‘No! Don’t just look!’ He screamed at a hushed tone. Maria rolled her eyes. ‘You definitely know her! You know, the one that has a look like this-‘

 

Tony stood closer to Hill to make himself seem a little more terrifying, leaned forward and elevated his arms a bit, hitting the woman with the most intensive killer-look he could muster under the circumstances. He was pretending to drill his way through the woman’s left eye, or maybe making it explode with the heat that his eye-laser was creating. Good that no-one knew what he was thinking, people would have probably pegged him as crazy or at least mentally unwell (not sure he would have disagreed).

 

But obviously, Tony was at least moderately successful, as understanding soon dawned on Maria’s face.

 

‘Oh! You mean her! That’s Natasha Romanova.’

 

Tony stood there for a while, looking at Hill, waiting for some more information.

 

‘What? Don’t look at me like that. That’s pretty much all that I know. She transferred here last year from Russia. She was supposed to be an exchange student, but guess not. I don’t know. It’s weird.’

 

‘Aha! I told you! She’s a Russian spy,’ Tony declared triumphantly. Maybe a bit far-fetched for a girl he’d only seen once in a passing, but the fact was that if _the Hill woman_ had no information on you, you were either A) a Russian super spy, B) a Chinese super spy or C) …

 

Well, there was no C.

 

‘Why you asking, anyway?’

 

A good question. Maybe _he_ should think about it first.

 

‘No reason, just want a name to go with my impending nightmares. Wanna bite?’ He held out his half-eaten Mars bar.

 

Maria scrunched up his nose and walked away.

 

‘Suit yourself!’ Her loss. This chocolate bar was delicious.

 -------------

 

 

 _‘You need anything from the supermarket?’_ Rhodney

 

 _‘no all good’_ Tony

 

 _‘Allright, I’ll be there in ten’_ Rhodney

 

Tony pocketed his phone and continued opening up the chips and emptying them in a large bowl. Clint had arrived almost an hour ago. He had walked straight through the front door, thrusted numerous packets of different snacks into Tony’s lap (standing on his toes, trying to fix the living room’s broken light he had been putting off for almost two months now) and then took off towards the porch out back, exclaiming he was ‘Here for the Jacuzzi, see you later!’.

 

And then he had the gall to send Tony a text saying _‘care to join me? xD  ;*’_

 

Now, pouring out the snacks Tony discovered three of them had previously been opened and were now almost half empty. Bet Clint had the best ones with him in the tub.

 

‘J, connect me to the poolside. And crank up the volume.

 

‘You are connected, sir.’

 

‘Hey bird brain!’

 

Tony heard a loud splash (as if someone was having a seizure in his Jacuzzi) followed by a long stream of expletives all the way to the kitchen. He allowed himself a victorious fist pump, snickering behind his beer bottle.

 

‘Rhodney’s gonna be here any minute, so you better be decent!’

 

Next thing Tony knew, Clint was walking through the kitchen door fully dressed to grab a beer from the countertop. The only tell-tale sign he had been soaking in hot water for the better part of an hour was the red face and dripping hair that was leaving dark spots on his grey t-shirt. How he always did it was a bigger mystery than the bigfoot.

 

‘So. What’s the plan for tonight?’ Clint took a swig out of the beer he had popped opened with his teeth and settled on the barstool, giving Tony an expectant look.

 

‘Hey, don’t ask me. It was Rhodney’s idea. If it were mine, we’d already be in some stripclub, getting drunk off of some hooker’s belly button.’

 

‘You make sure you invite me to one of those parties next time, allright?’

 

He was pointing at Tony’s forehead with his middle finger, trying to intimidate a promise out of him. Earned him a short laughter and a pat on his shoulder instead, as Tony passed him to open the front door.

 

‘Sure thing, buddy.’

 

After Rhodney and Happy arrived, they grabbed their snacks and beers and headed towards the sofas in the living room. Happy and Rhodney opened new bottles while Tony and Clint toasted with their old ones.

 

‘So, what’s this about then? You know he refused to tell me in the car, the old bastard.’

 

Rhodney took another swig of the bottle as if to stall from answering.

 

‘Why is it that every time I want to spend a nice evening with my boys something’s got to be going on?’

 

‘Did you just refer to us as ‘your boys’?’ Tony found this hilarious. ‘Are we in a gang I forgot about? Or a boy band?’

 

‘Ha-ha. That’s funny. But seriously. The only times you emerge from your military bunker is when something’s wrong. So lay it out.’

 

Maybe Tony and Clint were easy to sidetrack, but Happy was nothing if not persistent.

 

After a minute of silence and a round of inquiring looks Rhodney sighed in surrender. He lay the beer bottle on the small table and rested his elbows on his knees.

 

‘Alright. I _might_ have had an ulterior motive for bringing you guys here. I’m, um, getting deployed. I’m going to Afganistan in the following few days, might be for a couple of months but probably for a lot longer. We’re beginning a large-scale operation against some terrorist organisation called the Ten Rings.’

 

In the mentioning of Afganistan Tony had initially locked up, but managed somehow to shake it off. This time.

 

‘Well then. This calls for some hard liquor. Tequila shots for everybody!’

 

Rhodney tried to diffuse the situation.

 

‘No, really, it’s fine. I just thought we have a quiet night in, couple a beers and maybe a cigar or two. It’s fine.’

 

As history told, he wasn’t very good at refusing Tony.

 

‘Come on, my boy! Stop being such a pussy! A few drinks never hurt anyone. We can share secrets and have a pillow fight in between the shots!’

 

While Clint was giving Rhodney his pep talk, Tony had already managed to stack the table with all sorts of bottles and poured out some Tequila shots.

 

Eventually Rhodney relented. (He always did.)

 

‘Right now, we’re getting hammered and then we’re heading out to the club to find the kind colonel here some even kinder pussy. So, bottoms up!’

 -------------------

 

 

By the time they made it to the club, it was way past midnight. The building was packed with people, the air was hot and heavy and the walls were shaking with the volume of the music. Tony made a beeline to the bar, others soon following suit. He ordered a drink and turned around to scan the crowd. He spotted Rhodney, already talking with some girl near the stairs.

 

‘The guy does not waste time, huh?’ he screamed to Happy, nodding at Rhodney’s general direction.

 

Happy shakingly nodded and sank down on a nearby barstool. He did not stomach his alcohol very well.

 

Tony let his gaze wonder from the new hot couple, taking a sip of his drink and wiping the condensation from the glass in his jeans. He was just thinking about going on the move as a small blonde stood right in front of him, looking him meaningfully in the eyes.

 

‘Hey, Tony! Remember me?’

 

Oh boy. Another one of those. But she did have a good-looking friend, though. Busty brunettes were always a safe bet.

 

‘Sure don’t. But I’d like to remember _you_ tomorrow, sweetheart. Tony Stark.’ He took the friend’s hand in his and gave it a small kiss.

 

She giggled and told him her name. Maybe if she proved interesting enough he’d ask her name again later and actually try to remember it. Who knew, the night might still prove to be surprising.

 

He pulled her (let’s call her Stacy for now) to the dancefloor and placed his hands on her hips, starting to move to the music. Stacy turned out to be a pretty good dancer, clinging to his body and moving hers in just the right ways to accent her curves, where need. It was a little dirty even, letting Tony know she was probably open to the idea of a quick blowjob or a quickie in one of the bathroom stalls.

 

After a while Tony felt his throat going dry and heels growing tired, so he managed to sneak a glimpse towards the bar. And that’s when he saw green-eyes, dancing some distance away with some other guy. It looked like he hadn’t noticed Tony yet, it was a rare opportunity to look at Loki without him being aware of it. It was kind of strange actually, seeing him in such an environment, dressed like he was. Tight black leather pants and a white V-neck, which left most of his arms bare, revealing a part of another tattoo on his left arm. He had studded leather bracelets on his right wrist and it looked like he had had his hair slicked over his head once but it had turned messy from running his hands through it constantly.

 

And suddenly, their eyes locked. It seemed Loki was just as surprised to see him there as Tony was. It didn’t last long however, as Loki’s mouth twisted into a wicked smile as he mouthed ‘Mister Stark’ as a greeting.

 

Tony responded with a mouthed ‘Loki’ of his own. Somehow, all his previous thoughts about getting a drink were slipped from his memory. They kept dancing, eyes locked, giving each other appreciative once-overs from time to time. Tony turned Stacy around with her back against him so that he could maintain the look with Loki without the girl getting in the way as Loki mirrored her position. Tony broke into a devilish smile, he knew where this was going. Boy, was it a bad idea, but he’d blame the alcohol in the morning.

 

He had his left hand on the girl’s hip as his right one travelled slowly up on her arm, circling gently on her shoulder and moving back down, drawing out the rough edges of Loki’s tattoos, all the while watching Loki dance and trace the path of Tony’s hand with his own.

 

Loki smiled and licked his lips, snaking his hand up his body and into the hair of the guy dancing behind him, then moving his hips in a purely tantalizing way. Tony laced the girl’s fingers with his own and dragged their joined hands up her body and into Tony’s hair, mirroring Loki’s movements before. Tony held her (his) hand on the back of his head as the other hand started exploring the body under it, slowly and carefully at first – a small circle around the navel, a gentle caress over the hip. As he watched Loki drag the hand of the man behind him along with Tony’s hand, he grew bolder with his touches. He dragged his hand up the girl’s body, stroking his –her!- collarbones, grazing over a soft nipple on his way down, seeing as Loki’s eyes grew hooded for a second. This shouldn’t have been as sexy as it was.

 

He let go with the other hand from behind his head and placed both hands on the girl’s hipbones, possessively pulling her against his body. This was awarded with a strong roll of Loki’s hips that went straight to Tony’s groin, making him bite his bottom lip.

 

It was Loki this time that took a hold of the man’s (Tony’s) hand and traced the small strip of skin between his t-shirt and pants, then slipping under his shirt, Tony’s hand quickly following suit, tracing the light contours of muscle underneath his skin.

 

Loki quickly wet his lips and corrected his stance a little bit wider.

 

Right hand underneath the girl’s top, he traced his left hand up his body, caressing his ribs and grazing the other nipple, getting that same sweet response from Loki. Tony traced his fingers up the girl’s neck (Loki’s own fingers following suit, the other man’s hand forgotten), followed his jawline and lips, seeing as Loki kissed and nipped his own, sucking his index finger in his mouth for a few agonizing seconds. Tony tipped his head to the left and planted a small kiss under his ear, moving slowly down along his neck, finally giving a little bite where the neck and shoulder met.

 

Loki had completely stopped dancing now, standing there in the middle of the dancefloor, head tipped to one side and eyes hooded and heavy with clear lust. It was obvious to anyone that was watching closely enough (Tony was), that Loki was almost half-hard from their little “dance”, the same could go for Tony.

 

Tony dragged a wet tongue back up his neck and watched as Loki’s eyes slipped closed for a second, but he quickly opened them again, trapping his lip between his teeth in substitute. His both hands started roaming the sides of the man behind him, but it was obvious who was on his mind instead.

 

‘You’re a really passionate dancer, Tony.’

 

‘Sure,’ he wasn’t paying any mind to the body in front of him, there was only one person his attention was focused on.

 

Tony sucked an angry red spot on the girl’s neck and dragged a wet tongue over the shell of his ear, whispering something hot and heavy (didn’t really pay attention to the words escaping his lips). Tony’s hands were back on his hips, slowly making their way down from the sides, then coming back up along the inside of his thighs, narrowly missing the place where Loki (both of them) wanted friction the most. He repeated the circle, mesmerized by the way that Loki’s head had lolled back and his hands moved on his own body, clearly wanting, but never straying from the path set by his teacher. It was sinful.

 

At least it was, until that scary-looking girl (Natasha) was standing almost between them, making staying focused on each other a lot more difficult. Natasha (probably) said something to Loki which made him frown and they exchanged some heated words (all the while looking at Tony). After all it seemed like Loki relented and started heading off with Natasha, blowing Tony a last kiss.

 

And if the woman Tony finally left with was tall, pale and black-haired, well, he would feel guilty about it in the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well (evil grin), there you have it. So where should they go from here? Anyway, let me know what you guys think


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who's back, back again?  
> That's right, I am, with another chapter! Yay!  
> Sorry about the long wait, but this chapter WAS NOT cooperating.

‘What about this one?’

 

‘Makes your ass look big.’

 

‘Perfect.’

 

That caused Loki to raise his eyes from his mobile screen and send a surprised glance at Natasha.

 

‘What? He’s an ass man.’

 

She continued sorting through the clothes she had tried on as Loki lowered his gaze back to his phone.

 

‘At least care to tell me _now_ who that mysterious ass-man is? Or do I have to follow you to find out?’

 

Natasha narrowed her eyes in the boy’s direction and placed her hands on her hips. ‘Oh please. Like I couldn’t shake you from my trail with my eyes closed. Besides, not everyone can afford being so public with their infatuations as you.’

 

‘Infatuation? It’s not an infatuation.’ Loki pocketed his phone and turned his full attention to the self-satisfied smirk of his friend.

 

‘Oh, please. Call it how you want to, sweetheart, it doesn’t change the point.’

 

‘Don’t go there, Nat. I’m warning you.’

 

Natasha may have been a lot of things, but easily intimidated was not one of them. She started prancing around the pouf Loki was seated on, clearly in a playful mood, waving her arms and mocking in a high-pitched voice.

 

‘Oh, Mister Stark, hello Mister Stark, how was your day, Mister Stark? Care to fuck me on your table, Mister Stark?’

 

‘Oh stop it, you bloody harpey,’ Loki tried to sound peeved, but both of them could tell he was failing miserably. He had to rub his hands over his face to keep from laughing outright.

 

‘Thank you, Natasha, for that lovely impression of me. Although I must admit, I’d be quite happy with some heavy petting and snogging for starters as well.’

 

‘What, guess I’m an old-fashioned kind of guy,’ he said in response to his friend’s incredulous look.

 

After a few seconds of staring at each other, they both burst out laughing.

 

‘Come on, I need to pay for this and we can go. Your place or the park?’

 

Natasha headed for the register and paid for the dress, at the same time leaning seductively on the counter, smacking her red lips and batting her eyelashes, mumbling something about a discount for the new customers. Loki rolled his eyes and headed outside.

 

‘Mine, I think, it’s way closer. So, did you get that discount?’

 

They started walking down an almost deserted street, you could only see a man walking his dog in the distance and a taxi driver in the middle of the road, taking a smoke break. Loki pulled his coat snugly against his body and pressed his bare hands deep into the pockets. The cold wind was breaking the leaves from their hives up in the trees and there were small puddles scattered everywhere. Autumn had taken it’s toll.

 

‘Men are so easy. Just show them a bit of your boob and they fall over their own feet drooling.’

 

‘Thank you. You say the sweetest things.-’

 

‘I didn’t mean _you_ ,’ Natasha cut in.

 

‘-So what are you exactly trying to accomplish with this, then?’ he nodded towards the expensive-looking shopping bag dangling from her fingers.

 

‘Well, hopefully some diamond earrings and a good fuck.’ She laughed briefly. ‘No, this won’t work on my Mister X, his more mature than that. I guess I just want to look good, sexy.’

 

Loki sent him a meaningful look and slipped his sunglasses slowly on. ‘Darlin’, you always look good.’

 

Natasha puffed a small laugh but looked flattered all the same. ‘I know, but I just- You know that feeling when you walk into a room and all the eyes turn on you? That feeling of power and prestige, knowing that all the men in that room want you? And then you just walk up to him and let him kiss you and feel all the jealous looks focus on you two? I want him to feel lucky to be with me.’

 

‘So, he’s older than you, isn’t he? And you’re going out tonight, somewhere public, a restaurant, perhaps? Or to the theatre? Ow!’

 

Natasha punched him in the shoulder with his free hand.

 

‘I wouldn’t exactly recommend the theatre with _this_ kind of dress. Those dirty looks the old grannies would give you…’ Loki mockingly tsk’ed and shook his head.

 

 ’You always are too perceptive for your own good, you know that?’

 

Loki punched in the security code for the rusty red door of his apartment building and held it for Natasha. ‘Yes, I have been told that before,’ he sighed.

 

The staircase was dim and humid, the air smelling of old furniture and moth balls. There was graffiti on the walls here-and-there. As they ascended, a little bit of sunlight managed to break through the yellowish windows, making up for the lack of lighting.

 

They walked silently up to the fourth floor, Natasha thinking of some other topic other than Loki’s fucked up relationship with his family and Loki trying not to think at all. He unlocked the worn wooden door to his shared flat and stepped inside, throwing his keys on the end table near the mirror and leaving his shoes in the corridor. Natasha followed silently and closed the door behind them.

 

‘But yes, you’re right, he is older than me. 12 years to be exact,’ she said, falling into the only armchair in the living room while Loki hung up their coats and put the kettle on.

 

‘…Well, it’s not _that_ much, I guess,’ Loki said absentmindedly, as he took a seat on the sofa and propped his feet on the table, pushing aside all the junk that was cluttering the table – old magazines, half-filled ashtray, empty packet of cigarettes, three pastry wrappers and an empty plate.

 

‘You’re just saying that ‘cause otherwise you’d be a total hypocrite. You don’t fool me, sugar.’ She sent Loki a knowing smile to which he responded in kind.

 

‘Can’t really blame me, Nat. You haven’t really told me anything about this man other than to call him Mister X and that he’s a good guy. You know I don’t trust people just like that.’

 

‘I do. That’s why I’m saying that you should trust me. There’s a good reason I can’t tell you anything about him, but I promise, when it gets serious, I’ll introduce you two.’

 

Loki got off the couch and headed to the kitchen, coming back with two cups of tea and four large biscuits. ‘What does he look like, at least? Can you tell me this much?’

 

Natasha took the cup in his hands and placed the cookies on the armrest. ‘Oh, he’s dreamy. _Such_ muscles, those strong arms and those amazingly toned abs... Ahh! And those eyes, big and wholly blue, like you could just drown in them. He’s a little shorter than you are – okay, a little more – and his dirty blond hair’s… Well, he’s hot. Totally.’

 

Loki was observing her from behind his cup of tea, trying to hide the satisfied and smug smirk that had plastered itself on his face ever since Natasha started talking. ‘You’re really into him, aren’t you?’

 

Natasha looked surprised and taken aback for a moment, as if the thought hadn’t even crossed her mind before. ‘Yeah, I guess I am. He’s my little escape you know, from everything.’ Loki nodded and stared into his tea cup. The silence stretched.

 

‘God, this place looks disgusting. I have to start cleaning again. I swear, that Fandral is a real pig,’ he said with a sneer, finally lifting his gaze from his tea and staring at the coffee table in front of him.

 

‘You know I can’t stand this guy and his slippery nature. Kind of rubs me the wrong way. Don’t understand why you’re still living with him.’

 

Loki shrugged. ‘Kind of have no other choice. Besides, he got me my job, so I guess I owe him one.’

 

‘But still…’ She offered Loki a packet with cigarettes, Loki offered her a light in return. They sat there in silence for some time, smoking their cigarettes, occasionally flicking the ash into the tray on the table.

 

‘Would you rather I moved in with you?’

 

‘Ha! That’d be fun. Bet my parents would be so pleased.’ They both shared a bitter smile.

 

‘So, how’s the family?’ it was a familiar subject they often revelled on. At first when they met, part of the reason they matched so good together was because both of them had problems with their family. By now their friendship had evolved way past that, but it was still something they both understood, being broken in a similar way. Loki never liked talking about his family, but Natasha did – guess Loki was the only one he could talk to about it.

 

‘The same as usual. Mom’s drunk most of the time, dad’s well – dad. He’s grown a little more bitter. He’s started hitting in places no one could see. I had to take mom to the emergency room on Wednesday again. Spit curses and tried to punch me all the way there, trying to justify what he did.’

 

Loki nodded. ‘What about you?’

 

She took a long drag of her cigarette and exhaled before continuing. ‘I get by. I’m accustomed to the pain by now, grown cold and numb. I think he can sense that. But since I’m away more often than not and usually go home when they’re already passed out, I get off easy.’

 

Loki nodded again. ‘More tea, Nat?’

 

It was his way of being there for Natasha. See, she wasn’t like the other girls. She was emotionally tough, didn’t need anyone to hug her or tell her everything was going to be alright – she wasn’t naïve enough to believe them. Natasha had always managed to deal with her problems on her own. She just needed someone to sit with her over a cup of tea and a cigarette, showing that there was still somebody left in her corner. Loki got her, maybe even better than she got herself.

 

‘Sure. And bring some more biscuits. Bring the whole box. Oh, and turn on the TV!’

 

Loki laughed from the small kitchenette, reaching into an overhead cupboard above the stove for the box of cookies he’d hidden from his flatmate.

‘Perhaps you should watch out with those cookies,’ he said, walking back to the living room, ‘it’d be a real shame if you didn’t fit into that ass-exalting dress of yours.’

 

Natasha just stuffed another cookie in her mouth and said, crumbs flying and voice muffled: ‘Oh yeah, a real same.’ She swallowed, ‘But then again, I could always give it to you. Too bad you’re not into cross-dressing, you’d be rockin’ that bodycon.’ Another cookie.

 

‘Sure, it’d certainly highlight my legs. I’d have to shave, though.’

 

Loki smiled. It was ridiculous. Had it been anybody else, he’d probably would have punched them in their ignorant mouth for saying things like that, but with Nat it was different. They could pick on each other for hours and still be best friends afterwards, he knew she still respected him more than anyone else ever had. Besides, he _would_ look bombshell in that dress.

 

‘Oh, baby! I can already see you sitting on Stark’s desk in detention, waiting for him to come back. He’d start ripping his clothes off faster than I can say unprotected sexual intercourse. And believe me, I can say it pretty fast. Why you don’t just show up at his house with those tight leather pants and tousled hair asking for it is well beyond me. You know he’d be game.’

 

Loki rolled his eyes and set his feet back up on the table, calmly sipping his tea. They’d been over this a hundred times. ‘And where would that get me, Nat?’

 

‘Right where you want to, obviously. In Tony Stark’s overpriced silk boxers,’ she said matter-of-factly.

 

‘Yes, maybe for a while, and then he’d avoid me like the plague, after the thought of what he’s done catches up to him. I don’t need to be another one of his one night stands, I’m sure he has plenty of those already. I want him to be _mine_ , to want me,’ he said in a possessive tone, ’I need to plan this out carefully.’

 

Natasha started opening her mouth in reply, but just as she was about to say something, the apartment door opened and she heard someone rustling with their keys, followed by some heavy footsteps. She shut her mouth with a click and turned her head to stare out the window, scowling.

 

‘Hey, Loki!’

 

‘Hi, Fandral.’

 

Fandral did a double take over the living room, noticing Natasha sitting in the armchair, head turned away.

 

‘And hello to you too, Natasha,’ he said in an alluring (in his opinion) tone.

 

Natasha didn’t acknowledge his presence by other than just raising her hand and giving Loki’s flatmate a backhand wave.

 

‘Well, charming as always, I see. –Oh, and Loki, boss wants to see you. He didn’t seem overly happy, some of this week’s shipment has gone missing, so you’d better hurry up if you know what’s good for you.’ With that, the pair in the living room more heard than saw Fandral retreat to his room.

 

‘Always with the boots,’ Loki mumbled. ‘Well then, shall I walk you home, Nat?’

 

Natasha was already up and heading to the kitchen to clean up their cups of tea. ‘No, it’s fine, think I’ll better go out for a run or something, if I can manage to get my things from home unnoticed.’

 

They parted ways on the next street corner. Loki, wishing Natasha good luck for the night, headed towards “The Glitch”, feet moving in a slightly faster pace than usual.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, there you have it. And woot! 100+ kudos, that's amazing, you guys are amazing. Anyway, I'll try and be a bit faster with the next chapter, but I won't start making any promises. Still, remember kids, reviews and comments keep me motivated!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, another update. Sorry it took so long, but I managed to drown my computer and as a consequence, am now completely broke. Plus, you know, end of the semester.   
> But I hope you enjoy, and happy (rapidly arriving) holydays!

Tony wasn’t a stranger to the morning afters. In fact, he was so familiar with them, that he had developed a kind of routine for it by now. At around six in the morning he’d untangle his limbs form whoever it was that had a hold of them and slip out of bed. Then he’d pick up his clothes from the floor where he usually threw them, put them on near the door and slip out with his shoes in his hands. Then he’d find a nice place to sit in the hotel hallway, put on his shoes and went to eat breakfast at the restaurant (betting his life on the fact that his fridge back home would be empty). After a strong English breakfast and an even stronger coffee he’d call for a taxi and drive back home to sleep off his hangover.

 

This morning was not supposed to be any different. But Tony couldn’t help himself having a small heart attack upon opening his eyes and catching sight of the mess of black shoulder-length hair obscuring his view, the owner of said hair currently sleeping soundly with their back turned to him. 

 

The moment he had waken from a particulary pleasant… one could say  _ school-related _ dream (if you stretched the truth a bit), he had pulled the soft body next to him a little closer and squeezing his nose into those dark locks, thinking it being a very nice continuation to his nightly fantasy. Tony breathed deeply in, searching for a smell he didn’t even know but didn’t find all the same. It was then that his mind cleared and whirred into action.

 

_ It can’t be. Surely I’d remember  _ **_that_ ** _. _

 

\- Hence, the heart attack.

 

After forcing his thoughts to settle and his heart rate to calm, he very carefully slided the hand on his partner’s waist upwards. 

 

Still female.  _ Thank god. _

 

Which meant he didn’t have to turn to plan B (not that he had one. Maybe he should?) while plan A was still feasible. So Tony carefully slipped out of the bed, pulled on his shirt and jeans while stuffing his boxers into the small back pocket of his pants and headed for the door. He couldn’t wait to get the hell away. 

 

He could only breathe calmly when he was crouching in the elevator, trying to get his shoes onto his bare feet. At least now he knew that although Tony’s dick was pretty ready to sleep with a student (as yesterday  _ clearly _ showed), he himself definitely was not.

 

_ Good to know I have at least some morality left. _

 

Tony jumped straight into a waiting taxi, barked his address and threw the driver some random bills from his wallet, before he could mumble about waiting for a client. He didn’t care.

 

After the taxi ride home (through most of which he managed to sleep through), he stumbled carefully through his front door, locked it, and rested his forehead against the cool surface of the small window before him. He felt his stomach turn and rumble.

 

_ Food. _

 

Tony made himself stand (mostly) upright again and started heading for the kitchen when he saw the large bowls and empty bottles on the living room table.

 

_ I could kiss Clint right now. _

 

So Tony sat on down on his living room floor, back resting against one of the sofas and a bowl with chips lying between his legs. Stuffing his face, he finally took the time to think on what really had inspired last night.

 

It was all a bit fuzzy still, but he remembered sitting with the guys, playing some stupid drinking game, when Jarvis announced the arrival of a taxi. He sure as hell didn’t remember calling for one, but he must have, J didn’t take orders from anyone else.

 

They were supposed to be heading to the local strip club, but Rhodney was feeling confident enough to go and try his luck at some nightclub – so it really all is just Rhodney’s fault of what happened next. 

 

Everything had started so nice. He was in a nice inebriated state, his head was a light as a cloud and he had a soft pliant body in his arms, dancing as if her life depended on it. And then he had noticed Loki. He cringed as he remembered as Loki had actually caught him straight-out staring ( _ hope I had my mouth shut, at least _ ). It was a miracle, really, that Tony hadn’t noticed him before, the way Loki somehow seemed to stand out everywhere he went – like a genuine gem amongst cheap pieces of glass, like he was out of this world, on a different level than all the other mortals around him.

 

_ Okay, that sounded  _ way _ too poetic even for my own head. _

 

And what followed… It really was sinful, in all the meanings of the word. He tried not to think  about how desperately he had wanted the body before him to be Loki, how he had wanted to do all those things to him and  _ more _ , so much more. Lucky that their ‘dance’ had ended prematurely (Ha!) as Tony was about to leave whoever he was with and drag that damn green-eyes into some dark corner or other and thoroughly ravish him till them both were left panting and aching – yes, lucky. 

 

Even now he hated the way his body was reacting to the memory. Hated the way he had so little self-control. Somehow images of angry Pepper suddenly jumped into his head, lecturing about him being a ‘ _ self-centered idiot that has all the brain potential in the world and still can’t think with nothing else than your dick! _ ’. Well, that took at least care of Tony’s little ‘problem’.

 

But still, no matter how much he hated everything, he still couldn’t bring himself fo regret everything that had transpired. Maybe that was all he needed, to get it out of his system. For the both of them, hopefully.

 

(Nevertheless, a small but sure voice whispered in his head:  _ You know you’re wrong. _ )

\--------------------------

 

After spending the remainder of his Saturday sleeping and Sunday in the gym or tinkering in his lab, Monday had arrived unnoticed.

 

Tony was walking down the hall with the most mixed emotions. He truly dreaded his next class with Loki, but somehow his feet wouldn’t slow down, getting rapidly closer to that damn classroom he knew Loki was waiting in. 

 

Apparently, the bell had already rang and the corridors were empty, just as he had planned it - to make sure green-eyes couldn’t catch him off guard. What Tony was going to do after the class, he wasn’t quite sure. Was running out of the option?

 

Probably.

 

Tony felt embarrassed. It was one thing for a student to tempt him like this - it had happened many times before and it probably it won’t be the last time - but for him to act like he had… 

 

He honestly didn’t know what had come over him. There just was something about that kid that drew him in like he hadn’t been drawn before, he felt intrigued and a little bit scared. Tony couldn’t stop himself. He hated it (in some ways), but he couldn't help himself. Like a teenager who was home alone and heard a suspicious noise in the cellar - he just had to go look, even if it got himself killed.

 

And so, obviously, he was almost running to get to his class. By the time he made it to the door, he had made up his mind. As strange as it was, Tony Stark was going to apologize to Loki for his inappropriate behaviour. He had decided that even if he allowed himself to remain immoral in the privacy of his own thoughts (he had finally embraced that there was no escaping from it), he had to stay professional because it would be fair to Loki. 

 

Besides, it would save him a lot of trouble if his teaching career didn’t end because he just couldn’t keep it in his pants. A one-time-fling wasn’t worth his whole reputation (even if it was just as amazing as he imagined it would be) when after it Loki would go bragging to the whole school how he managed to seduce Mr. Stark after everyone else had failed. As he was sure every one of his students would do.

 

So as he was standing behind his classroom door (merely catching his breath), he tried to reassure himself with the mental breakdown he had had Saturday morning - his last little rock, only ray of sunshine. He rested all his hope on his morality as a teacher (yes, it was that serious). Hoping that when all else failed, his scraps of morale would pull him through. 

 

And so he opened the door.

 

The class was as they always were - noisy and restless. He didn’t dare glance in the back row, busying himself with the pretty girls sitting before his desk, trying to calm his heartbeat. 

 

Keeping himself busy in front of the chalkboard with the topic of today’s lesson, he had decided not to look at Loki until he felt confident enough in what he was going to say.  ‘Sorry I almost-molested you on the dance floor’ didn’t sound quite right. So he gave the class some problems to solve and got cracking. 

 

He tried to focus on the screen of his computer, even going as far as opening a Word document to write a draft on, when he heard a chair scraping against the floor and from the corner of his eye saw somebody stand up. As a teacher he had pretty quickly learned to reflexively keep an eye on his class so he turned to look. And instantly wished he hadn’t (again, in some ways). 

 

Loki was standing alone in the last row (of  _ course  _ it was him), pretending to be reading some of the lower text on the chalkboard. But it wasn’t just that that caught Tony’s attention. It was the full blown, in-your-face, huge erection that he  _ could not _ take his eyes off. 

 

Tony felt his mouth go dry and his heart start racing. He tried to swallow around the lump in his throat. No doubt he was blushing too. 

 

It might have looked like the kid hadn’t even noticed Tony in front of the classroom, but the small smirk on his lips told differently. He pretended to work for a moment and then began typing on his phone again. Guess Tony should have known from the beginning that Loki wouldn’t take so kindly into being ignored.

 

Tony closed his Word document. What was the point of it now?

 

Suddenly he felt his phone vibrate. He had to swipe his sweaty hands on his jeans before he could even open the text.

 

_ ‘like what you see?’ Unknown number _

 

Unknown my ass. Tony knew exactly who it was from. He dared a look up, but the culprit was currently pretending to deeply care about mathematical problems.

 

_ ‘as your teacher, I can neither confirm or deny it’ Tony _

 

_ ‘come now, you don’t have to be so shy. I for one very much enjoyed our little interplay’ Unknown number _

 

This time they managed to hold each other’s gaze for some moments. Loki wasn’t wearing his usual teasing smirk and Tony didn’t know what to think of it.

 

_ ‘how did you even get my number? I feel i should be worried’ Tony _

 

_ ‘I have my ways ;)’ Unknown number _

 

Well, then.

 

_ ‘those same ways you use to get into nightclubs whilst underage?’ Tony _

 

He saw Loki puff amusingly in his back row, sharing a quiet laughter with himself. Brought a smile on Tony’s lips, too.

 

_ ‘didn’t see you complaining’ _

 

Tony didn’t have time to reply as the bell rang and he tried to write down their homework before everyone managed to bail. When he turned around, Loki was already gone.


	9. Chapter 9

Those past few days had went by amazingly quickly for Tony. For the regular bystander he would seem as just another busy worker bee, but to those that knew him would have said that he had a extra spring in his step and a smile on his face more often than not. Not that there were many people who noticed. Pepper was almost never around anymore and Bruce was kind enough not to mention anything. He just seemed to be a little happier for Tony in his own silent way, too.

 

But still the same, if anyone had asked Tony himself what was making him that way, he would have probably said that he had no idea what they were on about. For him, things seemed as if they should always be. (And had been, right?)

 

By now, the man himself had almost entirely forgotten the plans he had once made for his  _ Loki-situation _ , but that didn’t mean he had forgotten about the kid in general. It just wasn’t physically possible. Not with green-eyes texting him a hundred times a day, almost as if to make sure he was always on Tony’s mind.

 

Okay, maybe a hundred times a day was a small exaggeration.

 

But it was enough to keep Tony constantly checking his phone. It was bordering on becoming obsessive, really. Mostly it was just innocent banter and witty comments from Loki ( _ ‘who knew choker necklaces were making a comeback? what next, crimped hair or socks and sandals? ridiculous’ Unknown number _ ) to which Tony didn’t really know what to reply to without looking like a weirdo. Besides, he kind of got the vibe that Loki didn’t actually expect to be replied to. So when he actually did, he just couldn’t bring himself to feel guilty about it, as Loki seemed to be especially pleased and proud of himself on getting him to engage in some mutual conversation. Like a puppy who’d gotten praise for his first trick.

 

Okay, maybe that was also a small exaggeration. (What was up with that?) More like he seemed pleasantly surprised. 

 

And that was exactly why Tony was currently in his lab, trying to build another hard drive for Jarvis. Trying, being the key word here. For the better part of the evening he had been busy internet shopping and texting with green-eyes. They had been discussing late night TV serials ( _ ‘stop talkin shit about Californication. i’ll fight you’ Unknown number _ ) when the replies stopped coming. It had happened before. Loki sometimes just stopped texting for a few hours, sometimes longer, but he always texted him back before morning. Tony was curious, of course, but didn’t feel like it was appropriate to bring it up. The guy was busy, what of it?

 

But it still didn’t stop Tony from going over every word, every little detail of their conversation in his mind. He had read his last text at least seven times by now, checking if there was anything that could have upset Loki.  _ ‘you can say what you want, but the walking dead would suck without daryl’ Tony _ . Nobody could hate Daryl, right?

 

At least he wasn’t reading the texts out loud or acting them out yet, and that was mainly because he felt a little embarrassed in front of Jarvis for acting like such a girl. He knew it was ridiculous -both being embarrassed in front of J and obsessing over some trifling texts- but he didn’t care. In his own home he was going to act any way he liked. And if it was like a 13 year old girl, then so be it.

 

After staring constantly at his phone for 23 minutes (thank you, Jarvis), Tony (Jarvis) decided that he needed some kind of a distraction. And just like so, we have yet again circled back to how the man in question ended up in the lab and not getting any work done.

 

Tony was standing behind a workbench, constantly picking up tools of various shapes and sizes, approaching the half-assembled hard drive with them, then placing the tools back on the table, moving them around and picking up yet another screwdriver or pliers. Then, after every 5 to 7 minutes, he’d get up, walk aimlessly around in the lab, grab a piece of whatever there was in the mini-fridge, then drop it off on some random surface and sit down behind the workbench again. All of that just to keep himself from checking his phone for the four hundredth time. It had worked brilliantly of course, like all of the plans with the Stark name behind them. He had only checked his phone 14 times and started composing a new message thrice during the last hour. 

 

So what, maybe Tony was just bored. Yeah, that was it. And he guessed it was a little nice when someone just wanted to talk about stuff with him. It made him feel wanted. Who doesn’t like feeling wanted? Tony did.

 

After a hour and a half in the lab, Tony finally gave up and decided to watch some television and after another hour gave up again and decided to try and sleep, to get rested for the beginning of the new school week.

 

Still no reply had come.

 

\---------------------

 

Upon waking in the morning, Tony found still no new messages. He frowned at his phone and pushed it deep into his pocket, convincing himself on the way to the kitchen that he didn’t care. 

 

So he made himself his first morning coffee ( _ No new messages _ ), drank it ( _ No new messages _ ), even made himself a sandwich ( _ No new messages _ ), fixed his hair and got dressed ( _ No new messages _ ). Before leaving the house, he made Jarvis run a quick network diagnostic on his phone, just in case. Everything seemed to be working fine.

 

By the time he made it to the small cafe near the school, he was almost positive that Loki was, once again, up to something. He left his car parked near the coffee shop (just in case) and walked through the park to the school, where Tony decided to kill some time in the teacher’s lounge, playing with his phone or just staring out the window. Bruce sat with him for a little while, but headed in his own way soon enough. He never was late to anything. 

 

After the bell rang, Tony slowly migrated towards the Maths class, already working through his mind all kinds of possibilities of what the kid might be up to, conjuring up his smug face sitting behind a desk, not even bothering to look invested in the class. 

 

He was, however, not prepared for what he actually saw.

 

The back row was positively empty. There was no Loki. Tony checked his phone, then again the back row, frowned, and put his phone back in his pocket. He indulged in a sullen look for a few seconds, then again perked up and stepped in front of the class, starting his lesson.

 

\-------------

 

When Loki failed to show up by Tuesday, Tony was 100% sure that green-eyes was avoiding him for some reason. The absolute silence and ignorance more angered than annoyed Tony. He had by then made up his mind on not contacting the kid first, as he was the last one to send a text to the other - the ball was in his court now by all means. 

 

Two could play that game.

 

He spent most of his free time with Bruce in the biology lab playing with the microscopes and making it impossible for Bruce to get any work done till’ he was gently but surely kicked out. Which meant he just had to find another victim to torment (Steve).

 

Wednesday was his SI-day. In the morning he drove all the way to New York (to Pepper’s great surprise) for the rest of the day. But everyone’s enthusiasm promptly died after they learned that Tony wasn’t going to do a lot of working but instead follow people around with sarcastic and/or biting comments or just playing the Minion game on his cell phone.

 

Thursday seemed like a pointless day to go to school, but he still did. 

 

When Loki still didn’t turn up by Friday, Tony started to get a little worried. So far, the kid had only missed his class once or twice, and never on the same week. It seemed to him that something was wrong. It was time to do some covert investigating.

 

‘Hey Bruce-man, what up?’

 

Tony hoped that he had forgiven him for making his life a little difficult earlier this week. Bruce let out a sigh, but smiled to him all the same.

 

‘Hey Tony.’

 

He took a seat next to Bruce on the sofa and pretended to look interested in whatever the man was reading. Took a bite or two out of his lunch, too.

 

‘It’s a quite interesting paper on flu vaccinations. The CDC are predicting a massive outbreak later this year. But then again, they always do.’

 

That was his chance if there ever was one.

 

‘Oh yeah, I can already see the first casualties.’ He tried to pass the comment off as nonchalant, gazing out the window and brushing off an invisible speck of dust from his jeans. Maybe overdid it a little, but Bruce still took the bait, the big carebear that he was.

 

‘Many kids sick in your classes already?’

 

Tony shrugged noncommittally. ‘Well, some, I guess. The only one missing for longer is Loki. -Laufeyson,’ he added quickly. 

 

‘Oh yeah, haven’t seen him for some time now. A week at least, maybe more. Then again, the kid does how he pleases, I feel like he’s missing more often than not. I think the worst is yet to come.’

 

Tony stole a last bite of food from Bruce’s plate and made a hasty retreat with a parting ‘you’re probably right’, feeling in his right mind as a made super spy, sneaking off with enemy intel. He should ask that Natasha-girl whether the russians were hiring. She’d no doubt know something about Loki’s whereabouts as well. 

 

But for now, he decided to wait till’ Monday until taking up further action, just in case Bruce was right and he just had decided he no longer cared about Tony’s classes (or Tony himself) enough to make himself known. He tried to ignore the slight sting that the thought evoked. 

 

On a last thought, he decided for sending the kid one last text message in hopes all of this was just some elaborate way of playing with Tony’s thoughts.

 

‘ _ all that skipping class makes one think you never did care for maths at all ;)’ Tony _

 

\-----------------

 

Monday came and went, but still there was no sign of Loki. By now Tony was absolutely positively sure that something was up. Something fishy. He spent most of the schoolday pondering on his next move. Somehow he knew even before he got to school, even before he’d woken up, really, that Loki wasn’t going to turn up and he had to take matters into his own hands. Didn’t seem the kid had much anybody else.

 

So the first thing upon making it home, Tony made a beeline to his lab and sat behind his super-secret-spy-computer. He’d decided to start off with the easier methods - hacking into the school database (okay, in hindsight maybe not the easiest, but most definitely the most  _ logical _ place to start). 

 

‘Hey sweetie, what do you say you and me spend some one-on-one time and take a peek at the one-eyed menace’s special documents?’ Tony cracked his neck and knuckles and began typing. 

 

‘Certainly sir. Shall we change the cafeteria menu again or would you like to focus on something even  _ more _ important?’ 

 

‘Oh stop it with the sarcasm.’ He aimed an intimidating (not quite) finger towards one of J’s ceiling cameras. ‘There is nothing more important to students than food. And before I intervened, the school cafeteria was offering chum on a plastic platter. Trust me. Not even Captain Spandex was eating that. But no, this is not what I have in mind this time. I need to get my paws on the student’s attendance sheet.’

 

Damn. This would be so much faster with the new hard drive he still haven’t been able to finish.

 

‘Is there anyone special you have in mind?’

 

‘Don’t play thick J, doesn’t suit you. Laufeyson. You know the one.’ Tony didn’t approve of his AI’s  _ dis _ approving tone.

 

After a few moments of staring up to the ceiling, the page in question popped up. And it showed exactly the information Tony thought it would. Otherwise Loki had been quite… adventitious in his comings and goings, but since last week he hadn’t shown up at all. And, as expected, there was no excuse note explaining the mysterious disappearance. Well then, at least he had checked.

 

‘J, get me some tangible numbers to go with those text messages he kept sending me.’

 

Tony sat on the old couch and wrote down the digits into his phone. He was just beginning to work out what he was going to say to Loki, when the operator informed him in that monotone and always infuriating voice that the phone was currently switched off.

 

‘Oh damn it. Okay, try tracking it, Jarv. Find me a last known location, at least.’

 

‘I’m sorry sir, but it seems like mister Laufeyson had a so-called burner phone, which has been turned off since last Friday or, more likely, exposed of. The last known location is downtown, the last signal was transmitted through the tower near the town hall.’

 

‘Shit! Fucking shit! So the kid might be laying in a ditch somewhere and I’ve got no way to find him? That’s just great.’ 

 

The remainder of the evening (and the better part of the night) Tony spent hunched up over his screen in the lab, going through public security videos he managed to get his hands on, but all he got by Wednesday was some tall blur that vaguely resembled Loki coming out of a Starbucks, drowning  _ something _ (Tony was sure it was his phone) into the large paper cup and throwing it into the nearest trash bin. After that he turned into a small alley and disappeared from the cameras.

 

By Wednesday evening Tony was at his wits end. He’d tried every possible way of tracking him - all useless. His only hope was Natasha Romanova. So as he was walking through the park towards the school, he’d decided upon plucking up his courage and going to the only source he had left, even if it meant that he’d have to suffer through some kung-fu fuckery or perhaps a more classical approach of a kick to his man-bits.

 

Oh, the things he’d be willing to risk... 

 

But as fates had it, Tony didn’t even find her in the school, which made him pretty fucking unhappy. The clock was already nearing 5 when Tony finally managed to drag himself out of his office (after completing  _ so much _ paperwork he’d skipped in the last week). It wasn’t quite raining yet, but the air was damp and cold, gray clouds were hanging low, smothering any late sun rays that might had been able to penetrate the bare treetops. Dragging his feet and feeling kind of hopeless, he made his way through the park, thinking why the hell he’d even left his car parked so far the whole time. The chances of meeting Loki on the way were near to zero. Good cardio, maybe?

 

Like in answer to his thoughts, that’s when he saw a lone figure sitting on a bench a little away, just under the great oak tree he’d seen the squirrels once. Tony felt his heartbeat quicken as he taked casual steps towards the hunched figure. Could it really be? With each passing step he was more sure of it. The kid was wearing those large dark sunglasses and a hood over his head, but it definetly was Loki.

 

Tony took a seat next to green-eyes and stared at the distance in front of him. Loki hadn’t moved an inch, but he was sure the kid was aware of his presence long before he’d taken a seat.

 

After a minute of silence, Tony opened his mouth. ‘So, what’s a guy like you doing in a place like this?’

 

Loki couldn’t help but puff out a small laughter. Small, but laughter all the same. ‘Oh, enjoying the fresh air,’ came the sarcastic replay. 

 

Both of the men continued staring off into the distance. Again, quiet took hold.

 

‘You know, the back row of my classroom is totally empty without you. A shame. So much room, waisted…’ (He never could keep his mouth shut long enough)

 

‘Yeah, I’ve been a little -preoccupied.’

 

‘With what?’

 

‘Surviving.’

 

Loki had tried to pass it off as some sarcastic comment, but something in his tone rang true to Tony. He turned to look at the kid. There were tired lines around his mouth, the hair sticking out from underneath the hood were stiff and oily. And what was up with those glasses?

 

‘Loki? Is something wrong?’

 

‘I’m fine.’ 

 

Not exactly convincing.

 

He slowly reached up for the sunglasses, giving Loki plenty of time to flinch away or tell him to stop. When he didn’t, Tony pulled off his sunglasses to reveal a black eye and a small cut on the bridge of his nose. The brusing seemed to be healing already, looking green and yellowish on the edges, the swelling almost gone.

 

‘Loki?’ he asked again, a little bit of worry seeping into his tone.

 

‘It’s nothing. I told you, I’m fine. Just a lucky shot.’

 

‘Who did this to you?’ 

 

He was reluctant to answer. ‘Doesn’t matter, there’s nothing you can do. I just need to lay low for a while, do some thinking. I’ll be fine.’

 

‘What are you, wanted for murder? Have you got a place to stay, at least?’

 

‘I’ll be fine.’ He kept repeating it like a mantra. It was driving Tony up the wall, frankly.

 

‘Well then, in that case, you’re coming with me.’

 

This made Loki finally take a look at the man next to him. He raised a long elegant eyebrow.

 

‘Inviting a murderer to come with you so lightly? And here I thought you were meant to be smart.’ A small quirk of his lips to which Tony responded in that wide winning smile of his.

 

‘Well, at least I have my moments. And the murderer part? That was a joke, if you hadn’t caught on yet. Besides, I still owe you that cup of tea, right?’

  
He stood from the bench and still smiling, offered his hand to Loki to help him up. After a few moments of sceptical gazing and thinking things over, he finally accepted Tony’s offer for help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh no! Whatever happened to poor Loki?  
> Anyway, as I promised, FINALLY we're getting to the good parts. At least I have some good ideas (in my own humble opinion), let's hope I can manage to write them down as well in not-so-distant future.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well then, I wanted to write for you guys Valentine's day special mini-chapter (the thought planted to me by nooodle07 - damn you!), but I guess I got a little carried away.

The car ride to Tony’s place was spent in relative silence. Loki kept his gaze out of the window and Tony thought better than to try and initiate some conversation. The kid looked tense and tired to the bone, somehow had a restless air around him even though he didn’t let it show. At least he had given up the sunglasses, now resting peacefully on the car’s dashboard.

 

Tony pulled into the driveway and turned off the engine. For a second there he thought if this was such a good idea after all. Turning to look at green-eyes though, he decided in a heartbeat that yes, it really was. It didn’t really matter so much that it was Loki  _ per se _ , he just couldn’t have left anyone in a situation like this without trying to do something. He kept telling everyone how he was a changed man - it was time to live up to those words.

 

‘So, ready to go?’

 

He unlocked the front door and held it for Loki, motioning for him to enter, then turning to lock the door behind him. ‘Darling, I’m home!’

 

The baffled look he earned from Loki was priceless - he had almost burst out laughing if it weren’t had been for the black eye and the worn-down look of him.

 

‘Welcome back, sir.’

 

Tony watched with interest as Loki’s expression turned again into mild confusion. Right now he found it much easier to read the kid as he almost like didn’t have the energy to mask his expressions with such care as he usually did.

 

‘I want you to meet somebody, Jarvis. J, this is Loki, Loki - Jarvis. He’s an artificial intelligence. Runs this house, my cars, tech… basically my whole life. Don’t know how I’d manage without him.’

 

‘You flatter me, sir. I am pleased to meet you, mister Laufeyson.’

 

Loki searched the ceiling for a moment, then gave up and said to no one in particular ‘Likewise, Jarvis.’

 

‘Now that we’ve got the instructions out of the way, secondary guest access for now, J. And make some tea for us.’ He turned to Loki. ‘I’m feeling maybe you’d like a shower, first? And some clean clothes?’

 

‘That’d be greatly appreciated, yes.’

 

‘Alright.’

 

He led Loki upstairs through his bedroom into his en-suite and gave him a fresh towel from the rack. (The other bathrooms weren’t equipped well enough, obviously.)

 

‘Here. Feel free to use anything you need, I’ll find you some clean clothes and lay them out on the bed... Well then, I’ll be downstairs. If you need me or anything at all, really, just tell Jarvis.’ 

 

Tony closed the door behind him and heard the tell-tale click of a door locking a few moments later. He dug through his wardrobe to find those grey sweatpants that he never wore (because they were made too long by some error at the factory, not because he was short) and a plain white t-shirt. On an afterthought he added some socks and a new pair of boxers as well.

 

After half an hour, Loki emerged from upstairs, looking (and smelling) more refreshed than he had been in days. He took a seat on one of the stools behind the kitchen counters and observed Tony, who was currently busying himself with takeaway boxes.

 

‘You hungry? ‘Cause I’m starving. Ordered some Chinese, if that’s okay with you.’ 

 

Tony stopped fussing and took a long look at Loki. Seeing the kid in Tony’s clothes (and underwear, his treacherous brain reminded him), his hair still damp at the edges and pushed back with his fingers looked kind of… nice. His cheeks were flushed from the hot shower, but the tired lines still remained and he seemed perhaps even more tense than before.

 

Loki nodded. ‘It’s fine.’

 

They ate in relative silence, Loki wolfing down everything he could get his hands on. Tony wanted to ask when was the last time he ate, but he feared what the answer would be. 

 

After they finished eating (well, after  _ Loki _ finished eating as Tony just left everything to him) Tony brought them two cups of tea and a box of expensive assorted cookies he’d actually bought a while ago. With a sheepish grin, he handed the kid a steaming red cup with a drunken Santa on it ( _ I’m too fucking drunk to remember what you wanted _ written on it - a present from Clint).

 

‘Don’t know if it’s good enough for Your Highness, but I at least followed J’s instructions step-by-step.’

 

Loki took the cup from him and sniffed at the beverage carefully, then blowed on it and took a small sip. ‘It’s fine. Just warm leaf water, right?’

 

Tony leaned on the counter behind him and gave green-eyes a small smile in response. He was gazing at the cup in Loki’s hands, trying to figure out from which end he was going to begin untangling this ball of yarn when Loki suddenly spoke.

 

‘You know, mister Stark, I appreciate your help, I really do, but I find it is high time for me to get going. I’ll go change.’

 

He was already up from the seat and heading for the stairs when Tony’s brain finally caught up with Loki’s words. 

 

‘What? Hey, no! No no no no no! Sit down!’

 

Loki responded with an incredulous smirk and a raised eyebrow, but obeyed the mock-commanding request after a small please was added. He perched himself again on the bar stool, crossed his hands over his chest and landed his teacher with an inquisitive gaze, as if to say  _ all right, I’m listening. For now _ . At least this looked a little more like familiar territory again.

 

‘Do you even know where you’re going? I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’ve got a pretty large house for a single guy, I’m sure we could find you a bed or two to sleep in.’

 

For a moment it looked like green-eyes was about to retaliate with a ambiguous comment when he kind of gave up and exhaled a long tired sigh. 

 

‘You know, as tempting as that actually sounds, I cannot accept your generosity.’ 

 

‘Well why the hell not? I think you could at least give me a reason.’ If he could just get some information out of the kid, Tony was sure he’d be able to do  _ something _ .

 

Loki let out another sigh and turned to look out the window (wall, really).

 

‘I… It’s not safe to be me at the moment. Or around me. They’re still looking.’

 

Tony frowned so hard he felt like his eyes were retreating back inside his skull. ‘Okay… And who might that be?’

 

Loki turned to look at him with a look that clearly said  _ I’m not going to tell you  _ (for your own good?)

 

‘Alright, fine. Be that way. But does anyone know where you’ve been?’ -a shake of the head- ‘Does anyone know you’re here?’ - another shake of the head, more reluctant this time. Loki got a feeling he was stepping into a trap. ‘And does anybody know to look for you here? Hell no! Besides, trust me when I tell you that there is no safer place to be than Tony Stark’s house. When I can protect the whole damn nation,’ (a bitter smile) ‘I can sure as hell protect you as well.’ 

 

Loki didn’t seem all that happy. ‘I am  _ not  _ a damsel in distress that needs saving, mister Stark.’

 

Dammit. He almost had it. ‘What? I wouldn’t dream of it. And trust me when I say than I’m no hero, either. Look, you need a place to stay and me.. well, I guess I could use a little -company.’ The last bit was harder to say than he would have thought.

 

Loki sat silent for a long time, deep in thought, probably weighing over the pros and cons. ‘I accept your offer. But as soon as I am able, I’ll leave. Agreed?’

 

Tony slapped his hands together in triumph. ‘Great! Then it’s settled. J, increase the security up to level 5 for as long as Loki’s here. Nobody gets near this house without me knowing about it, got it?’

 

‘Certainly, sir. Initiating security protocol 28B7.0.’ Some distant clicks and whirring sounds were heard, after that a muffled clank from somewhere outside.

 

‘So, how about a movie?’

 

They ended up watching Guardians of the Galaxy on the living room TV, Tony sprawled on one side of the couch with his feet rested on the end table, Loki on the other end and a sea of snacks between them. Occasionally Tony managed to sneak a peek at green-eyes, sitting cross-legged with that white t-shirt slightly too wide for him, snickering at the screen from time-to-time. It felt to Tony like most of the tension had finally bled out from the kid, his shoulders seemed more relaxed, the sharp edges of his face appeared softer, somehow.

 

There was still half an hour of movie left, when Tony noticed Loki beginning to drift off. His head kept nodding to his chest and after a few seconds he startled back awake. It was almost painful to watch how hard he was fighting sleep.

 

‘Psst! Loki!’

 

The kid was once again startled from sleep, this time by Tony.

 

‘Come on, let’s get you to bed.’

 

He showed Loki to one of the empty guest rooms and headed down to the lab. It was still too early for him to sleep, besides he had some strange amount of leftover energy he needed to burn off. Doing something destructive, preferably.

 

\-------------------------------

 

When Tony finally managed to drag himself out of bed, it was almost noon. He threw on some clothes and staggered downstairs.

 

’Coff- J.’

 

It was funny how he would forget things sometimes. Big and important things. It was also funny how he would sometimes also unintentionally  _ ignore  _ the tell-tale signs of the things he’d forgotten. Like the amazing smell of pancakes coming from the kitchen. Or the calming notes of classical music playing from the speakers in the living room. 

 

Only when he finally made it to the kitchen did he stop dead in his tracks by the sight that greeted him.  There, by the stove that he never used, was Loki, dressed in strangely familiar sweats and t-shirt, making pancakes for breakfast. 

 

‘Morning, mister Stark.’

 

For a moment Tony was dumbstruck. What? He even pinched himself on the thigh to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. Then yesterday’s events came rushing back to him. Oh,  _ riight _ . 

 

So, without a word, he turned on his heels and retreated hastily back upstairs. If he heard a small laugh behind him, he persuaded himself it was his imagination.

 

After a quick shower, shave and a brushing of his teeth (and hair), he was standing in the kitchen, wearing fresh clothes and his favorite aftershave.

 

‘Okay, let’s try this again. Good morning, Loki.’

 

I was plain to see green-eyes was itching to comment on his teacher’s comical behavior, but managed to restrain himself. His eyes were shining with mirth.

 

‘And a good morning to you, mister Stark. Or should I say noon?’

 

Tony took a seat behind the counter, pouring himself coffee from the pot sitting in front of him. There was another cup next to his, half-filled with tea and a jar of honey (didn’t even know he had a jar of honey).

 

‘Perhaps I stepped over by boundaries somewhat, but I made breakfast.’ He placed a large plate, laden with pancakes in front of Tony, along with all possible kinds of jams, syrups and fruit. Tony eagerly dug in.

 

‘Are you kidding me? You can do whatev--- Wow. This… this is amazing. You should make a living off this, seriously.’ He took another bite of that fluffy deliciousness fit for gods. ‘Jarv, make a note. From now on, Saturdays are pancake days. Seriously.’

 

‘Duly noted, sir.’

 

Loki took his cup and topped it off from another pot. ‘I’m glad you approve of my cooking, mister Stark.’

 

Tony stopped chewing.

 

‘Okay, no. We need to set down some ground rules, here. While at home, you will call me Tony. I want none of this mister Stark bullshit.’ In an afterthought he added, ‘And no pranks in the house. Seriously. I’ve seen what you can do. It’s destructive.’

 

‘Oh, very well. Tony.’ That sounded just as destructive (only on a different level). ‘Is there anything else?’

 

‘No, I think that’s pretty much it. Jarvis will let you know if there’s something you shouldn’t be doing. Like, I dunno, blowing up my bedroom wall or hiring call girls with my credit cards.’

 

‘And why on  _ earth _ would I do that… Tony?’

 

The man felt the corners of his mouth twitch. Now there was the Loki he knew. He deemed it safer to focus on his pancakes. Perhaps derail the whole conversation, just to be safe.

 

‘So, how’d you sleep?’

 

Loki took a sip of his tea before answering. ‘Alright.’

 

‘Really? Because if you’d ask me, I’d say you look almost as bad as yesterday.’

 

The kid only shrugged and hid himself behind thad impossibly large cup of his.

 

‘Jarvis, what would you say to this?’

 

‘Mister Laufeyson has slept for 2 hours and 43 minutes in total, his longest period asleep being 36 minutes, sir.’

 

Tony stared at Loki with a chastising look, who was silent for a long time at first. Then, finally, seeing Tony wasn’t going to let it go, he let out an irritated sigh. ‘Fine. I can’t sleep. I doze off for some ten minutes, then I can’t help but wake up. I know it’s become psychosomatic by now, but I can’t help it. Guess I’m just paranoid.’

 

That sounded even worse than he’d first thought. ‘When’s the last time you had a good night’s rest, Loki?’ Who could blame Tony if he sounded worried?

 

‘Last Saturday. They almost caught me then.’

 

Tony wanted to know so badly who  _ they  _ were, but he knew he wouldn’t get far following that line of inquiries, not yet at least.

 

‘Okay. Do you want me to give you some pills or something?’ God knows he had an assortment of sleeping pills in his bedside drawer (the bottom one, of course).

 

‘No. It’ll pass.’ Resolute. There was no point in arguing any further.

 

After Tony had finished eating, he loaded up the dishwasher as Loki put away the leftovers. Tony had to admit that their teamwork was pretty damn efficient. After that, Tony thought it appropriate to show his guest around the house. He started from downstairs, leading Loki through the living room to the games room (or the room where he kept his pool table, mostly), from there through the sauna to the indoor pool/gym and backyard porch. Back in through the kitchen door and upstairs, where there was the master suite (Tony’s room) and a smaller guest room to the left, the larger guest room (Loki’s room) and a small library adjoined with the office to the right. The upstairs hallway ended with a lounge and a balcony. They concluded their little tour back in the downstairs hallway. ‘And this is the stair that leads to the basement. There’s my personal lab.’ Tony didn’t elaborate and Loki left it at that.

 

Tony spent his afternoon in the lab, working on that unfinished hard drive he’d been putting off for the last week, after he had left a satisfied Loki up in the library.

 

He was in his groove, running calculations in his mind and connecting wires this way and that, when Jarvis's smooth voice interrupted him.

 

‘Sir, I’m sorry to disturb you, but mister Laufeyson would like to know if you’d be joining him for dinner.’

 

He stopped fussing with the toys and cast his look upwards, thinking. ‘Yeah, alright. Just tell him I’ll grab a quick shower first. Wouldn’t want to spook him looking like one of those demons from the Evil Dead.’

 

He took off the welding mask and rubbed the sweaty and oil smudged face beneath it. ‘And mute the music.’

 

As Ozzy stopped singing about his drug-induced hallucinations, Tony put any and all possibly explosive (and messy) goods away from the probing reach of Butterfingers and glanced at a nearby monitor. ‘Huh. Six-thirty. Whaddayaknow Jarvis, I haven’t eaten this regularly since preschool.’

 

‘I couldn’t be happier, sir.’

 

\------------------------------

 

Loki had made lasagna for dinner. Needless to say it was pretty much the best lasagna Tony’s ever had.

 

‘You know, I could get used to this.’

 

‘Jarvis has indeed informed me that your eating habits are a bit… erratic. And consisting mainly of takeaways and coffee.’

 

‘Oh yeah? What else has J’s been telling you? Not all of my deepest-darkest secrets, I hope?’ This was interesting.

 

‘Wouldn’t dream of it, sir,’ came the AI’s response, mainly tuned out by Tony.

 

‘Oh, we discuss a wide variety of topics, not all of which involve you.’ 

 

‘So, just most of them?’ They held eye contact for a long time, Loki trying to hide his amusement, Tony grinning openly. (Eventually, Loki gave in.)

 

‘I hope you do know that you don’t have to do this. The cooking I mean. I don’t expect you to play my housewife or something, just sayin’.’

 

Right after those words had left Tony’s mouth, he had a bad feeling that Loki wouldn’t take so kindly into being called a housewife. He waited for him to get angry or at least scowl at him. But he didn’t.

 

‘I don’t mind. In fact, I need you to make a supermarket run for me. I’ll put together a list for you tomorrow. Your kitchen is  _ painfully _ understocked.’

 

Tony couldn’t help but laugh, looking at the kid with an incredulous expression. He had to keep reminding himself that didn’t actually know green-eyes that well. On second thought, make that  _ at all _ .

 

‘What? You did say that I can do whatever I like as long as Jarvis is okay with it’. Tony really wanted to intercept that this wasn’t exactly what he said, but he didn’t get the chance. ‘And after a brief discussion, he is not only okay with it, but has actually stated that he would let me force-feed you, if need be. So I am going to cook. And I also plan on taking full advantage of the library and swimming pool. And maybe sauna.’

 

‘As long as your most gracious hospitality still stands, of course,’ ha added, after swallowing his mouthful.

 

Tony couldn’t help but laugh. ‘Okay okay, I’ll go out tomorrow and buy some groceries. Where’d you learn to cook like this, anyway?’

 

‘My mother taught me. She used to be a chef before she had… kids. After that she stayed at home with us. We used to cook together, she and I. Oh, she loved the English cuisine, all that 5 o’clock tea with crumpets and tiny sandwiches.’ There was a far away look on Loki’s face, eyes filled with old sorrow, but his smile so tender, remembering the days when he had been simply happy.

 

‘That sound’s nice. Me and my mother hardly spent any time together.’

 

‘Yeah.’ Loki cleared his throat and made to clear up the table. ‘I’ll go watch some TV.’

 

Tony spent the next half an hour or so tinkering in his lab, finishing up J’s new hardware update. After he was done, he found Loki, perched on the couch, knees pulled up to his chest, flipping through the channels in supersonic speed. He grabbed a pack of chips and some expensive chocolates from the kitchen (Loki had a major sweet tooth - he’d noticed) and seated himself on the other end of the couch, placing the snacks between them once again.

 

‘So, what are we watching?’

 

‘Absolute rubbish from all channels, it seems.’

 

‘Great! I love absolute rubbish. Whoa, whoa, wait, go back. That was Die Hard right there! A classical christmas movie that is.’

 

‘Christmas isn’t for almost two months, Tony.’

 

‘So? We gotta get in the zone, Lokes! Can’t let christmas catch you off guard.’

 

The kid let out a small laugh. ‘Alright, fine.’

 

It was comfortable. The lights were turned down and the fireplace lit. If you really tried, you could hear the wind howling and rain drumming against the windows, the two enjoying each other’s silent company with the mellow sound of guns bratatat-ing in the distance. Not 20 minutes in, Tony noticed Loki had fallen fast asleep with his cheek resting on the backrest, mouth gently open. He grabbed a throw blanket from one of the arm chairs and draped it over green-eyes, then settling back in to watch the rest of the movie. 

 

They both slept soundly through the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope it warmend your heart as it did mine. Happy Valentines!


	11. Chapter 11

Tony woke under a warm duvet, his feet still propped up on the coffee table and his neck feeling like it was broken from eight different places. The TV was turned off and the remainder of their snacks cleaned away. There was no sight of Loki.

 

‘J, what’s the time?’

 

‘It is currently 8.37 a.m. Today’s weather will be cloudy with a chance of rain in the afternoon, with daily temperatures ranging from 44 to 53 degrees.’

 

‘And Loki?’

 

‘Mister Laufeyson is currently swimming in the pool, he woke exactly 56 minutes ago.’

 

Tony was a little pleased by that. At least Loki got a good night’s rest.

 

He made himself a cup of coffee to go with the grilled cheese sandwiches resting on the table. They were getting cold my now, but it was still better than nothing. As Tony settled in to eat, he pulled a piece of paper from under the serving plate, filled with that same elegant letters he’d known to associate with the kid. Of course, the shopping list.

 

Tony didn’t recognize a third of the things on there, but whatever. He’d be willing to spend the rest of his Sunday in the grocery store even if it meant he’d have to check every single product on every single shelf (or worse yet, ask someone for help). He had his own personal chef now - considering it was probably a limited-time offer only, he intended on taking a full advantage of it.

 

In the end, it only took Tony two and a half hours and three stores to get all the things Loki needed. As he got home, Loki swooped in from god only knows where and took the grocery bags from his hands,  giving Tony only a clipped ‘Thanks’ as the kid closed himself into the kitchen and started putting everything away exactly as he saw best, reorganizing Tony’s state of the art designer kitchen in the process. Guess he wasn’t in a very sociable mood, today.

 

‘Hey Jarvis, you’ve got any idea what’s up with our houseguest?’

 

He had retreated back into his lab after returning home, feeling like he was not exactly welcome in Loki’s presence right now.

 

‘If I were to hypothesise, sir, I would suggest that mister Laufeyson might be feeling somewhat disturbed by your… sleeping arrangements yesterday and perhaps rather guilty over your own state of being. Then again, I have only been able to study mister Laufeyson’s behavioral patterns for a very limited time. Not to mention the fact that I also lack the knowledge about profound human emotion and hence perhaps not the best source for advice.’

 

‘Yeah, well, you’re the only one I have. So what do you suggest I do, go talk to the kid? Tell him I don’t mind sleeping on the couch? That I’ve passed out in a lot worse places?’

 

‘I think it would be best for now if you were to leave the problem at hand as it is. ‘

 

Tony mumbled a distant ‘alrighty’ and resumed inspecting the new blueprints for the stubborn service bot, lying shredded on the table. This course of action was fine with Tony - mind your own business and let others come to you.

 

‘-Oh, and maybe it’s high time I work on a new software upgrade for you too, J. That profound human emotion shit sounds pretty cool, don’t you think? That way, at least one of us would understand what’s going on, yeah?’

 

Tony laughed to himself. It was awesome being a genius.

 

\----------------------------

 

‘ _ Cause I’m back on the track and I’m beatin’ the flack, nobody’s gonna get me  _ nananammhh,  _ so look at me now, I’m just _ ’ -unidentifiable mumbling- ‘ _ get out of my way! YES i’M BACK! Well I’m back-- _ ’

 

Tony was currently digging through his drawers and cupboards, trying to find something that could hold the damn wires in place for that stupid service bot while he could weld the small switchboard in place. Without it short-circuiting would be nice.

 

Butterfingers was already sent to stand in a corner for causing a small blackout in the lab. Twice.

 

Suddenly the music muted and Tony was left singing alone like a fool. He quickly stopped.

 

‘Jarvis, what the hell?!’

 

‘I am terribly sorry, sir,’ (sure as hell didn’t sound like it,) ‘but mister Laufeyson is asking for permission to enter the lab.’

 

That took Tony a little by surprise.

 

‘Did he hear me sing?’

 

‘It appears not, sir.’

 

Whew. ‘Well in that case, let him in.’

 

A few seconds later, Loki walked in. He didn’t even notice Tony right away, just kept slowly walking forward, looking curiously at the different gadgets haphazardly thrown on every possible free surface. The kid didn’t exactly have the look of amazed bewilderment people usually got on the rare occasion someone was allowed in Tony’s sanctuary, but it was probably because he was a lot better at  hiding his thoughts. Like, 24/7.  Sometimes (usually) Tony hated it.

 

‘Hey, there.’ Tony threw himself back into his chair trying to look as casual as possible.

 

‘Hey.’ He sent Tony a small smile, baring his white teeth, then returning to examine his surroundings. ‘Quite a man-cave you’ve got here.’

 

If Loki was still… whatever he was in the morning, Tony couldn’t tell. Most possibly over it by now.

 

‘Yeah. You know, I’m actually glad you’re here. Come here. Let me see your hands.’

 

Loki arched a dark eyebrow in a silent question but after a heartbeat still went to Tony, crossing the lab in long confident steps.

 

‘Oh yes, these are perfect.’ He took Loki’s outstretched hands in his and pretended to examine them from both sides. Perhaps not extremely necessary, but he wanted to do it. Loki’s fingers were long and bony, his skin cool to the touch, but smooth and silky-soft. He let quickly go. ‘Take your spider hands and come here. I need you to help me with this.’ 

 

He showed Loki the mess of wires in the deep pits of the metal casing making up the robot. 

 

‘I need you to hold them… like this, yes, and make sure you don’t let the green-and-yellow one touch any of the other wires. Better yet, don’t let them touch anything. Most of all, you. I don’t know CPR.’

 

With those encouraging guidelines he was gone in a flash, searching through piles of tools to find the right equipment. Within a minute, he was back on Loki’s side, thrusting a welding mask over his face and pulling down his own. 

 

‘You got this?’

 

‘Yeah.’

 

Tony slowly started melting together the small pieces of metal, making sure to keep the heat away from Loki’s unprotected fingers. The kid’s hands were steady as rock. He was either cold blooded as a fish or just trusted Tony enough. (Tony liked to think it was a little bit of both.)

 

‘There. You alright?’

 

‘Well, I’d be better if I’d get this dusty mask off of my face,’ came the mumbled reply.

 

Tony threw the smouldering tools somewhere on the table and pulled the welding mask over Loki’s head. They shared a moment of eye contact, smiling that silly smile of shared experience when Loki promptly ruined it by crossing his eyes and taking several small breaths in, looking like a textbook example of someone about to sneeze.

 

‘No!’ Tony instinctively shoved a finger under the kid’s nose. ‘Not yet. I still need to connect them.’

 

After screwing closed the last few clamps, he finally flexed his back and threw off his welding mask, too. 

 

‘Okay.  _ Now _ you can sneeze.’

 

As if on cue, Loki started rapidly sneezing, his face halfway hidden behind his hands. Tony counted five times in total, small little puffs, like a cat. It was cute. Also got Tony thinking what else he could make Loki do on cue. 

 

No, not going there right now.

 

(Right now?)

 

‘Well bless you.’

 

‘Thanks. I can’t stand-’ sniff ‘dust all that well.’

 

‘Oh. Well. Sorry about that.’

 

‘Don’t be. So, what’s this supposed to be anyway? Some kind of robot?’

 

Tony looked a little sheepish for a moment.

 

‘Yeeeaaah, It’s supposed to, that’s for sure. But the thing seems to be living it’s own life. I programmed it to do some cleaning around the house and things like that, but so far all it’s managed to accomplish is making my life a living nightmare.’

 

Loki let out one of his sincere laughs, the one that made the air around him shimmer and vibrate. Tony loved listening to this laugh. It was like Loki was singing at the same time, somehow. He suddenly wanted to make the kid laugh like this every day.

 

‘Oh, I already like this one.’ 

 

Loki let his hand absentmindedly stroke the cool metal casing of the body lying on the table in front of him, a small smile still forgotten on his lips. And Tony just kept staring at the kid’s profile, reveling on how the artificial lights accented his sharp features and pale complexion along with the dark circles under his eyes that were by now almost completely absent in the daylight.

 

‘Actually I had a reason coming down here, you know. I made some lunch.’ He checked the time, ‘Or maybe dinner? You hungry?’

 

‘I could go for a bite or two, yeah. But tell me, what do you know about electronics and engineering? I could use an assistant with some of the things here.’

 

‘Not much, but I’m a fast learner.’

 

That sounded teasing even without that suggestive smirk on Loki’s lips. Tony felt like it was contagious.

 

‘So let me show you a few things, green-eyes.’

 

They ended up eating their dinner in the lab, hunched up over the poor abused robot that Tony had managed to pull apart once again (for educational purposes, not because he wanted to piece it back together with Loki). As it turned out, green-eyes really was a quick learner, picking up everything Tony said in stride, asking exactly the right questions at exactly the right times. It was a little frightening, even. 

 

It was only when Tony’s voice sounded hoarse and his mouth dry did he call the lesson over for tonight. He reached for his minifridge for a cold beer while Loki walked around the lab aimlessly, working out the cranks in his neck and shoulders. 

 

‘Got any more of those?’

 

Tony eyed the can in his hands, then turned his gaze back to Loki. ‘Sure I do.’ His mouth stretched into a wide mischievous grin. ‘Just not for  _ minors _ .’ He tasted the last word slowly, savoring it, letting it roll lazily from his tongue.

 

‘Oh, I hate you.’ Loki squinted his eyes at the direction of his teacher, then resumed his casual pacing.  ‘You know, I’m almost eighteen.’

 

Tony was definitely enjoying having the upper hand for a change. ‘Good for you. That means you’ve only got as  little as three years to wait. I could put one aside for you, if you’d like,’ he motioned to the minifridge with his half-empty beer can.

 

‘And,’ Loki continued as Tony hadn’t said a word, ‘as I’m not an American citizen, but instead one of UK’s, where the legal drinking age  _ is _ , in fact, eighteen, I really see no problem here.’

 

‘Great! Neither do I. We can continue this argument on your birthday, if you so insist. I could even get you a sixpack.’ Tony was not backing down. This was way too much fun. 

 

‘Well be that way, you pigheaded old man. What’s stopping me from taking it myself, then?’

 

Tony barked out a laugh at the flattering nickname. ‘Absolutely nothing. Except, of course, Jarvis with his death lasers. And I must warn you, he’s kind of a snitch as well.’

 

Loki stopped pacing for a moment as if to think things through, then declared: ‘I think I’ll take my chances.’ 

 

‘Alright then. But in the meantime, wanna watch a movie or something?’ Tony thought he was being clever, but Loki obviously saw right through him. 

 

‘No, I think a nice soft bed would do us both some good. Besides, one of us has got school tomorrow. And I’m pretty sure it ain’t me!’ he called out over his shoulder as he retreated towards the stairs.

 

\-------------------

 

Turned out Loki was right - a nice soft bed really did Tony some good. Perhaps even a little too good. When he finally had managed to drag himself into the shower and unmuted Jarvis again (he was a really annoying alarm clock) it was impossible to ignore the fact that he was running painfully late. Not even kidding. He should have left the house 15 minutes ago.

 

So as Tony almost came tumbling down the stairs, still buttoning up his shirt, a forgotten toothbrush dangling from his mouth, Loki somehow managed to not look surprised at all.

 

He only spared him a cool glance, then returned to the tablet he was messing with. ‘I was wondering when you’d be up.’

 

His teacher didn’t have the time to respond, as he stormed from one room to another picking up the books and papers scattered everywhere, occasionally brushing his teeth in the process.

 

‘Sir, may I remind you that your first lesson starts at approx-’

 

‘Mute! Fucking shit!’

 

He came to an abrupt stop on the kitchen doorway, scanning the room, looking like a maniac.

 

‘And where the  _ hell _ are my keys?!’

 

Without rising his gaze, Loki calmly answered: ‘On the counter. And Tony-’ From his fingers there was hanging a small bag with some sandwiches and a large cup of coffee.

 

The man stopped just as he was about to head out the door. Upon eyeing the small package, he ran back to the kitchen.

 

‘Oh my god, what would I do without you.’ 

 

He was  _ this close _ to almost kissing Loki on his head, but managed to stop himself just in time for it to get weird. This close!

 

\--------------

 

It was already past eight when Tony got home. It was strange pulling up to his house and knowing someone was in there waiting for him. The lights were on and the TV was casting colourful shadows on the living room windows. He’d forgotten how it felt like.

 

Loki was lying on the couch, watching a documentary about penguins. His feet were bare and hair tied in a loose ponytail. Tony kicked off his shoes and loosened the tie around his neck, not bothering with a hello. He was too tired of that.

 

The man threw his briefcase under the coffee table and asked Loki: ‘May I sit here, your highness?’ Funny. He’d never asked permission in his own house before. Needless to say, Tony’s voice was dripping with sarcasm. Surely there were other sofas and chairs he could have sat, but he never used them.

 

Loki, still fully focused on the documentary, only lifted his legs up enough that Tony could sit down under them, after which he promptly dropped them in Tony’s lap.

 

‘Give me your laptop.’

 

‘Why? Where’s your tablet?’  _ Your _ tablet. 

 

‘Left it in the lab. Now can’t get to it.’

 

Tony stared at the two king penguins mating on the screen for a few seconds, then bent over Loki’s absurdly long and heavy legs to dig out the computer from his bag.

 

‘J, increase Loki’s access level to first level resident.’

 

‘Confirmation needed.’

 

Tony typed in the password (lemon sherbet - he  liked Harry Potter as much as the next guy), then handed the computer to the kid.

 

As Loki surfed the internet, Tony took out his phone to call Pepper - to see if she needed him to come down to SI on Wednesday and to give her his weekly over-the-phone pinkie promise to answer his e-mails and sign the documents everyone insisted on sending to him on goddamn  _ paper _ . As their conversation strayed onto more personal topics, Tony started to absentmindedly stroke and massage the cold feet under his free hand, only realising it after he’d hung up the call. He quickly stopped, using the excuse of putting away his phone to rest his hands on the backrest of the sofa. 

 

Obviously Loki wasn’t all that happy about the extended lack of massage. He nudged Tony’s stomach with his toes.

 

‘Don’t stop.’

 

Tony had no other choice. 

 

‘Whatcha doin’?’

 

Finally the kid raised his gaze from the screen in front of him. Looking at Tony, the frown he seemed to constantly be wearing smoothed out and the corner of his mouth twitched into the most smallest of smirks.

 

‘Shopping. I think it’s high time for me to get some new clothes. And I’ll be needing your credit card information.’

 

Tony bent closer to Loki and the computer in front of him. ‘Only if I get to choose some as well.’

 

He’d never had that much fun shopping. It seemed like Loki had his own opinion about everything and he wasn’t shy on sharing them (accompanied with plentiful of witty comments) with his teacher, who in return did his best on finding Loki the most ridiculous hippy-clothes the internet had to offer. In the end, Tony managed to pick out some worn-down black jeans, a leather jacket, some t-shirts and aviator sunglasses for the kid. Loki closed the computer and laid it on the table. Suddenly, the room got really dim and quiet. Loki turned to look at Tony with such intensity which he hadn’t seen since their meeting at the small coffee shop that one morning before school (which seemed years ago now). Abruptly, Tony was acutely aware of the proximity between them, but he was already trapped in those green pools staring up at him, almost as if searching his face for something, memorizing it. For the life of him, he couldn’t pull away. Loki opened his mouth a little and for a second there, Tony thought whether Loki was going to kiss him and what should his reaction be.

 

‘I’m going to bed,’ Loki half-whispered. 

 

Well, then. Tony wasn’t sure whether he was relieved or disappointed.

 

Only when Loki didn’t move a muscle to get up from the sofa did Tony realise he was practically side-lying on top of him, had moved progressively closer to the  screen in the overall excitement of clothes-shopping (on a side note:  _ what the everloving fuck!?  _ Excitement for clothes-shopping?).

 

‘Oh yeah, sorry.’ He returned to a safe seated position at the other end of the couch and pretended to watch the commercials until Loki left.

 

‘Good night, Tony.’

 

‘’Night.’

 

\--------------

 

After a little while of collecting himself and enjoying the wonderful experience that are the late night infomercials, it seemed like a good time to drag his tired ass up the stairs and into his bed as well. Tony was just about to retire to his room when he noticed Loki’s door slightly ajar. Standing there in the middle of the hallway, his curiosity got the best on Tony. He crossed the corridor slowly, sneaking around like a criminal (he kind of felt like one, at the moment) to stop just behind the kid’s door. 

 

He could have sworn his heart skipped a beat just then.

 

He heard several deep breaths which progressed quickly into panting. There was no mistaking the rustling of the sheets or the occasional moan that escaped those chapped lips, probably swollen and red from where he’s been biting and licking them. Loki’s lips. 

 

Another moan, accompanied by a gasp and an ah! and Tony felt the painful tightness of jeans pressing down on his rapidly growing erection. 

 

It would have been so easy to just take a half a step closer, push the door just the barest of hint and peek inside - it was as if the door was left open on purpose, inviting him in.

 

The softest whisper of his name was the last straw. It was so quiet Tony may as well had imagined it. He knew he didn’t. 

 

Tony pressed his hands to his face, biting hard on his lip to physically  _ stop _ himself from grabbing his pulsing member through his jeans to release at least some of the pressure. He hadn’t been this hard in  _ years _ .

 

It took nearly all of his willpower to turn around and retreat back to his room and lock the door behind him. (Mostly to keep him from getting out, not anybody else getting in.) Tony waddled into the bathroom and turned on the water. He was already too far gone to just ‘will’ this one away. Within a few hard strokes, he was at his completion coming over the wall tiles, perfect alabaster skin and dark hair dancing in his vision.

 

\--------------

 

As Tony laid sleepless in his bed, staring up at the ceiling and listening to Loki taking a shower, he couldn’t help the feeling of standing on the edge of an abyss. He was terrified of taking another step, no matter the direction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew, finally!  
> No, I haven't forgotten you guys, I've just been extremely busy. Not even kidding. I haven't been this busy before in my life. Some days it felt like I was going to be broken in half.  
> And this chapter wasn't exactly a one you'd call easy-coming. Which means I'm not 100% happy with it, but I hope it's enough. For now.   
> I hope to have the next chapter up quicker than 3 months.


	12. Chapter 12

Tony hated the domestic life. It got really tedious really fast. He hated how you always had to consider someone else’s thoughts and feelings, hated how that someone made him keep regular sleeping schedules and constantly lectured him about the dangers of excess alcohol and caffeine consumption. He also hated the way he got several days worth of silent treatment every time he passed out in the lab or failed to come home for the night; how he was somehow kicked out of  _ his own bed _ and forced to sleep on the couch. 

 

Tony hated how there was constantly someone in his space. If not directly in the same room, he could always feel a loud presence in the house and it kept nagging at him, making it hard to concentrate. He hated how he was dragged out of his lab to eat, or how he had to explain his work. 

 

How he could say anything that came to his mind and someone always answered him with the most inspiring of thoughts (or sometimes they were just funny or managed to calm him down after nothing was working out or he had hit his thumb with a hammer).

 

Or how there was always someone to watch late night movies with, or someone who made sure he got up in the mornings. Not to mention knowing when he needed to rant to someone or when he needed to  be left alone.

 

Okay, maybe he didn’t hate it as much the second time around.

 

Loki had been crashing at Tony’s place for almost two weeks now. It was crazy how quickly Tony got used to green-eyes always being there. Sometimes, when he was alone working in the lab, he’d think something aloud or shout a question to the other side of the room. Only when he got no answer was he reminded that Loki was currently in the pool/at the kitchen/doing some secret stuff on the tablet he was resolute on keeping secret from his housemate. And it wasn’t tedious or annoying in the least. 

 

Dare he say it? -Tony instead liked sharing his house with Loki (living together sounded harsh and permanent and he didn’t like to dwell on these kind of thoughts much).

 

Tony actually managed to eat at least two semi-regular meals a day, hadn’t been late for anything in 11 days (and counting) and spent all of his nights in a bedroom.

 

Okay, maybe that last statement needs some explanation. Namely, Tony spends most of his nights sleeping with Loki.

 

No, not in  _ that  _ way.

 

A few days after Loki had insisted on them (mainly Tony, really) sleeping in their own beds, Tony noticed the kid looking progressively worse for wear, his energy lacking and the circles under his eyes darkening once again.

 

Alright, fine. It was Jarvis who noticed.

 

Anyway, as Loki’s sleep problems seemed to be a touchy subject for him, Tony decided on not bringing it up again, instead trying to solve it without green-eyes even realizing it. 

 

The plan was largely the same he’d already tried - late night movies. But instead of watching them on the living room TV, he suggested moving it to Loki’s bedroom. ‘It’s way more comfortable, your room is cleaner…’ Surely he’d found more excuses. 

 

Somehow, his plan had worked. From there on, they spent their nights watching movies (or just TV when Loki was feeling especially tired). Usually Loki fell asleep halfway through, Tony’d watch the rest of the movie alone and then go to sleep in his own room. Sometimes it happened that he fell asleep next to Loki, spending his night above the covers. When that happened, he always woke up alone.

 

Loki acted like nothing had happened and Tony acted like he didn’t know the kid only slept when he thought Tony was with him. 

 

Of course Loki knew what Tony’s agenda was, but he didn’t bring it up, neither did he turn down a movie night. Sleep deprivation really is a torture on it’s own. 

 

\------------------------

 

‘What? Why would you?... No. NO!’

 

This was getting frustrating.

 

‘How can you even do that?... Stupid,  _ stupid _ .’

 

Tony was mumbling to himself again. He always did when he was grading papers. He found it made reading through dozens of pages of mediocrity with occasional flash of reason (or more often, flash of vacancy) a little more bearable. Had he not have been sitting on the living room couch, pinned under Loki’s feet, Tony probably would have been pacing the room, stabbing his chest with the red pen.

 

Loki payed no mind to him, doing his own homework for the week.

 

Some days after he and Loki had the ‘house rules’ kind of talk, Tony insisted on adding another rule to the book. Namely he insisted that Loki’d be keeping up with his schoolwork because ‘when all of this blows over, you’re gonna be happy you can continue where you left off’. 

 

Green-eyes wasn’t especially happy about it, but Tony stood firm and eventually Loki relented. It wasn’t as if it was especially difficult for him. 

 

‘Hey Tony?’

 

‘Mmmh?’ 

 

‘Square root of 497,29?’

 

Tony didn’t raise his eyes from the paper in front of him. ‘Don’t aclt like you don’t know it.’

 

‘What’s the use of having my own genius at hand if I can’t take advantage of it?’

 

‘Flattery will get you now… No, actually, it will get you pretty far. But you’re your own genius, so stop harassing me.’

 

Tony threw the packet of papers on the table. ‘I think I’m done for the day. The bunch of them can wait another day for their goddamn grades. You almost done?’

 

Loki mumbled his agreement.

 

Tony heaved his legs on the table and wrapped his hands around the cold feet in his lap, occasionally drawing circular patterns on the long toes and bony heels. All those simple touches had somehow become so casual for both of them, unnoticed. A small brush of fingers handing each other a cup of coffee, a warm hand on the shoulder reaching past one another working at the lab. It wasn’t even worth thinking about.

 

Tony let his fingers scrape against Loki’s bare soles. The legs on his lap were gone in a flash.

 

‘Well, well! What do we have here? Don’t tell me you’re ticklish?’

 

‘ _ I am NOT _ . Stop that.’

 

After a moment of eyeing Tony suspiciously, Loki placed his feet slowly back on his teacher’s lap, while Tony pretended to look uninterested. A second later, he was on one of Loki’s foot like a vice, holding it down and shaving his fingers rapidly along his skin.

 

Green-eyes was squirming on the couch, trying to get free, halfway choking with laughter, then again trying to be outraged with Tony.

 

‘No! NO! Tony, don’t! Ton- Aaaaaahh!’

 

Abruptly, with a swift kick Loki was free and on Tony, poking him in the ribs with his bony spiderlike fingers, eliciting a decidedly  _ non _ -manly squeak from his victim, who scrambled to get away, rolling off the couch and sprinting for the fireplace. Tony grabbed a poker from the stand and aimed it towards Loki.

 

‘Haha! Who’s ticklish now, eh?’

 

‘Stand down, you demon! I’ve got a… iron thingy and I’m not afraid to use it!’

 

Tony’s declaration seemed to have a completely adverse effect as Loki pounced over the couch and stalked towards the man like a panther, entirely predatory smile on his face.

 

‘Oh yeah? And do you  **_really_ ** think you can stop me?’

 

Before Tony had a chance to say anything, Loki had disarmed and imbalanced Tony in a blink, making him fall flat on his stomach like a bag of flour. It all happened so fast,  everything was still a blur.

 

‘I didn’t think so,’ Loki whispered in Tony’s ear. He straddled his teacher’s thighs, Tony’s right hand twisted behind his back, rendering him helpless. 

 

Loki gave him a moment to appreciate the eroticity of the situation. Before Tony managed to properly react, his torture resumed anew, cold digits probing against his sides. 

 

Tony was trashing powerless on the floor, kicking his legs into the floor and flapping with his free hand, trying to stop Loki, grabbing his clothes and legs. He even caught an arm once, but Loki astonishingly stood immutable.

 

‘Had enough yet?’

 

‘Okay! Okay, I call uncle! Stop! Uncle, uncle!’

 

Loki stopped tickling Tony, but otherwise didn’t move to let him go.

 

‘You can get off me, you know. All this rolling around on the floor isn’t good for my old man bones.’

 

‘Sure. Just as soon as you promise to never tickle me again.’

 

Should have figured this loss came with a high price.

 

‘What? Now way, snuggle-bear.’

 

Just as those words escaped Tony’s mouth, Loki gave free reign to his hand once again, making Tony trash and scream anew.

 

‘Okay! Alright! I promise! I promise! Never again. Just please, have mercy!’

 

Loki ‘hmm’-ed in satisfaction. 

 

‘Never again what,  _ Tony _ ?’ Again, breathed into his teacher’s ear.

 

It was getting harder for Tony to concentrate.

 

‘I will never… I promise to never again tickle you ever-ever. As long as you live in this house.’

 

_ Live in this house _ . The sentence stood hanging in the air for a moment. But Tony needed to get in at least one clause of his own. He’d been involved in enough law cases to know how to give himself some leeway. 

 

Seconds ticked by while Loki was processing things. Tony held his breath.

 

‘Wery well.’ (Audible exhale) ‘This will do. For now.’

 

Loki let go of Tony and backed away to sit on the backrest of the sofa. 

 

‘So, wanna watch a movie or something? I’m thinking Downton Abbey.’

 

Tony got awkwardly up from (his slightly humiliating position on) the floor and made a hasty retreat towards the stairs.

 

‘Yeah, absolutely. Just let me go- freshen up, first.’ And maybe a shower.

  
  


\---------------------------------------

 

After SO many late nights and frustrating arguments, Tony and Loki could finally say they had finished their first joint project of the new service bot. Standing proud in it’s new dark grey casing (Loki’s design), the robot had passed it’s extensive testing with flying colours and was now capable of cleaning the floors, brewing coffee and tea, grasping and moving objects, opening the refrigerator and playing catch with numerous objects. As it had basic communication with Jarvis as well as its own processor, the robot was fully functional and had rightfully earned its place with the band of misfits that was the Stark family.

 

‘So you think it’s finally ready?’

 

‘Yeah. I do.’

 

They were both standing before the docking station on which the robot in question was waiting to be turned on and let loose to start living a life of its own.

 

‘Hey, you!’ Tony knocked against it’s metal body, ‘How you feeling? Ready?’

 

‘I don’t think it hears you.’

 

‘You’re right. Guess we’d have to switch it online first. But before that,’ Tony addressed the robot, ‘you’re gonna need a name. I’m not going to call you ‘it’ or ‘robot’.’

 

After half a minute of silence, Tony turned to look at Loki.

 

‘Anything?’

 

‘Hold on a sec.’

 

Loki rummaged around on one of the shelves near Tony’s welding table and soon returned with a small canister of paint. Pulling a paintbrush from the back pocket of his jeans, Loki popped open the can and drew a large red U on the grey casing in front of him.

 

‘U?’

 

‘Yes. U. Let’s be honest, Tony, you named this little fella a  _ long _ time ago.’

 

Tony stared at the red symbol for some time. It looked abnormally tidy and industrial, the dark red standing out just the right amount. Sleek, he had to admit.

 

‘I like it.’

 

‘Great.’ Loki stood in front of the docking station, rubbing his hands together, ‘Now, switch it on, so he can meet it’s new mommy.’ 

 

‘What? How come you get to be the mommy?’

 

‘I named him. Is that not how babies work?’

 

Tony shrugged. ‘I wouldn’t know.’

 

‘Yeah, me neither.’

 

‘Okay then. Let’s see what this baby can do.’

 

Tony typed in the commands to Jarvis’s mainframe and plugged in U’s battery. The robot whirred to life, red and green lights flashing, and started rapidly calibrating its position, surroundings and movements.

 

Loki and Tony stood a few steps back, staring wide-eyed at the marvel in front of them, the little (medium-sized) robot doing it’s own business. After a few minutes it stopped, waiting for following instructions.

 

‘Awesome. Now I just need to tweak a little its…’

 

‘To hell with that, Tony, it can wait. I want to see him in action.’ Loki crouched in front of the robot, ‘Hey, little guy! Do you recognize me? I’m your mommy, but you can call me Loki.’

 

Loki reached a pale hand towards U, to which the robot constediously reacted by shaking the offered hand with its claw.

 

‘Are we seriously introducing ourselves to a robot we just built?’

 

‘AND THIS-’ Loki turned to squint at Tony, ‘...is your alcoholic of a father. I told him several times that  _ I don’t want _ any kids, but did he listen? Of course not! He’s rich and arrogant, he does whatever he wants!’

 

Tony mockingly kicked Loki in the side. He could barely contain his laughter.

 

‘Hey, stop filling it’s internal storage with lies.’

 

‘And now he’s abusive as well.’

 

Loki got up and took a step back to stand next to Tony. Now both of them were laughing.

 

‘Forget about what I said, little one. So, shall you do the honors, Tony?’

 

‘Ah, finally! Okay, U,’ he bowed closer, ‘-that’s you, by the way- go and make a cup of coffee for me, and a tea for Loki, okay?’

 

U whirred to life, waving his claws up and down and riding a full circle around himself, beeping in excitement. Finally, he could understand what was going on. 

 

As the robot started its journey to the kitchen, Tony and Loki silently followed suit, sneaking on tip-toes and excitedly whispering praise to each other. ( _ ‘Look at him go!’, ‘Isn’t he the cutest?’ ‘Fussing around like a big boy!’ _ )

 

As the robot started operating around in the kitchen, Loki held them back to stand behind the doorway, peeking around the corner with their bodies hidden.

 

‘We don’t want to be too pushy! Let him do his own thing, we have to give him some space.’

 

All in all, the whole ordeal was ridiculous. Bet Jarvis was having a good laugh right about now.

 

Turned out the beverages were satisfactory (considering the incredibly high expectations of the pair) and decidedly  ‘not bad for a first time’. 

 

Half an hour later, Tony was sitting on his usual spot on the living room couch, watching U clean the carpet and making notes for possible improvements in its coding. Loki was slowly pacing the room, his hands pushed to his pockets. Tony could sense something off about him.

 

‘Hey, green-eyes! Everything okay?’

 

Loki stopped and turned to look at his teacher. ‘Hmm? Yeah, yeah. Just a little stir-crazy. It should pass.’

 

No wonder - Loki had been cooped up inside for two weeks now, only times he got a breath of fresh air were the two smoke breaks a day he had between his open bedroom window.

 

(Yes, there was a small fight about Loki smoking. At first Tony absolutely refused to buy him cigarettes from the store. But let’s just say that withdrawal-Loki pretty soon made him change his mind.)

 

In Tony’s opinion Loki was acting paranoid, but the kid didn’t want to take any chances. So he never left the house.

 

‘Come, I have an idea. Let’s do a small barbeque on the porch, I’m getting hungry anyway.’

 

Loki started pacing again. ‘I don’t think that’s such a great idea.’

 

‘Come on. No-one’s gonna see you, Lokes. The deck’s surrounded by the house on two sides, plus there’s a high hedge.  _ No-one _ is going to see you.’

 

‘I thought you wanted to rewrite some of U’s coding?’

 

‘As you said, it can wait.’

 

‘All right. Fine.’

  
  


\-----------------------------------

  
  


Finally Tony had a chance to show off his only culinary triumph so far. He fired up the grill as Loki settled himself sitting on the edge of the porch, his brand new aviators on and the leather jacket covered with one of the throw blankets from the living room.

 

The weather was clear and quiet, the sun softening the crisp temperatures of early November. Tony sipped on his beer while occasionally checking in on the steaks while Loki was just enjoying the temporary feeling of freedom, soaking in the sun and observing the small birds on the trees.

 

‘You know, I’ve been thinking about integrating Jarvis with some human emotions. Well, not directly  _ to _ him, that would be a more complicated task, not to mention possibly dangerous and with unforeseeable outcomes - on second thought we should  _ totally _ do it! - but just so he could recognize emotions and act on them, when needed.’

 

He turned around and leaned on the edge of the grill, absentmindedly tearing at the label of his beer bottle.

 

Loki eyed the movement of his fingers with a tiny smirk. ‘That would be fascinating. But how do you suggest we do it?’

 

‘Well,’ he threw a small piece of paper on the ground and took another swig, ‘J’s already capable of monitoring people’s heart rate, pupil dilation, body temperature and presumable blood pressure. All he needs now is someone who can tell and show him what to expect and look for. And since I just  _ happen _ to have a master-actor, who excels at reading people right in front of me…’

 

Loki laughed briefly over his shoulder. ‘I  _ am _ good at reading people. Do you want to know what I’m reading off of you right now?’

 

‘No! Absolutely not. I can bet my left hand that it’s something embarrassing.’

 

‘Killjoy. So basically, when you say ‘us’, you really mean ‘me’?’

 

‘Yes. No. Well, Jarvis is entirely capable of learning on it’s own. But when it comes down to fundamental skills, he still needs someone to write the missing pieces of algorithms, which then must be catalogued accordingly. He’s not powerful enough to write and re-write his own coding. Yet.’

 

He turned to the grill and gave the steaks one last flip. ‘Give me your plate.’

 

‘So that’s it? Just a piece of meat?’

 

‘That’s it?! Loki, this is a breakfast of champions!’

 

‘It’s  _ way  _ past noon, Tony. I’m gonna go grab us a salad. A red wine wouldn’t hurt, as well.’

 

‘You go ahead and try!’

 

Loki returned with a salad (for him) and threw some tomatoes at Tony’s approximate locale. They ate in silence, sitting both on the edge of the deck.

 

‘As much as I hate boosting your already colossal ego, this is not bad. I should make you cook more often.’

 

‘Haa! In that case, dear Loki, you will be dining alone.’

 

Tony rose from his sitting position to start pacing casually along the grass, occasionally kicking his toes into the ground. Another beer bottle, another peeled label. He was plucking up his courage.

 

Just spit it out, Tony. I can’t stomach watching you scour through your diminutive vocabulary, reaching for words you’ll never grasp.’

 

Tony really wanted to comment on Loki’s overly-pompous  _ vocabulary _ right about now. Instead, he took the harder way out for once.

 

‘Okay. Loki, I  _ need _ to know who’s searching for you.’

 

He could sense Loki tensing up, a big frown forming behind his glasses.

 

‘We’ve been over this before. The answer has always been the same. What makes you think it will change now?’

 

‘Because I  _ need  _ to know, Lo.’ He felt like a little kid, begging for some expensive toy. ‘I can see it eating away at you. And I want to DO something, I can’t just stand here and watch you… I don’t even know.’

 

‘So this is what it’s about? If you want me out of your house, just say so! I’ll be gone in 10 minutes.’

 

The decibels were unmistakably insing.

 

‘No! This is not what it’s about! I just thought you’d trust me enough to tell me what the fuck is going on! Is that too much to ask?!’

 

‘Fine then! You need to know so badly, I’ll tell you! But I need you to promise me this-’

 

‘What?’ Tony took Loki’s example and lowered his voice a little, turning back to his bottle of alcohol. His only friend that hadn’t turned its back to him when things got unpleasant. (And boy did it feel unpleasant right now.)

 

‘I need you to promise me that whatever I tell you, you will do nothing to intervene, nor will you relay  this information to anyone else in any form, directly or indirectly, including Jarvis and/or any other intelligent objects. I will tell you, and you will do absolutely NOTHING further with this information. No extra clauses, no concessions. Are we clear?’

 

Tony crouched on the grass and pressed his closed palms to his lips, thinking things through. There was no mistaking what Loki wanted from him. After promising him what the kid needed, his hands were tied. Even if he found some kind of loophole or just simply neglected his promise, he would inevitably lose any scrap of trust he might have attained.

 

‘Okay. You have my word.’

 

Loki took a minute for a few deep breaths and to collect his thoughts, deciding where to begin.

 

‘All right. I a…- I guess you could say I- we had some  _ misunderstandings _ with my… employer.’

 

Tony couldn’t help but bark out a lough. All of it seemed a little ridiculous. ‘Your  _ employer _ ? Who did you work as, a professional hitman?’

 

‘No, I was… distributing certain illegal intoxicating substances.’

 

‘Drugs Loki? You were selling drugs?! Are you  _ out of your mind _ ?!’

 

‘What do you care?! Who are  _ you _ of all the people to come lecture me about anything?!’ 

 

This was quickly turning into a shouting match. Now both of them were in a standoff, Loki on the porch, holding the higher ground.

 

‘Of course I care, you narcissistic bastard! I thought you were smarter than  _ this _ !’

 

‘Smarter than what, mister  _ bloody  _ genius?! I deal drugs, I don’t use them! I’m not stupid!’

 

‘Are you sure, Loki? Are you  _ absolutely _ sure? Cause you could have fooled me!’

 

‘Excuse me?! Now we’re going there, are we? Honestly, I thought better of you.’

 

Somehow Tony felt like the wind had been knocked out of him. He tried to calm himself as Loki turned towards the house to collect himself.

 

‘Just… let’s just try this again, okay?’ He placed his bottle on the ground and ran his hands through his hair, ‘Why, Loki?’

 

Seemed like green-eyes had managed to calm himself back down, taking a seat on his familiar spot and gathering the blanket back around his body.

 

‘I needed the money. I had no friends, no place to live… An old - _ acquaintance _ \- of mine took me in with him. And since his boss was searching for someone to distribute, it felt as good a place as any. I felt like I owed it to my flatmate. All I needed to do was pick up the drugs from the storage and deliver it to the little dealers on the streets. I was quick and discreet, didn’t really care about anything other than my own paycheck. The shipments often came during the day, hence my incessant absence from school.’

 

Tony felt a chill run over him. The sun had vanished behind the hedge, drawing long dark shadows in the garden. The grass was beginning to freeze. He laughed softly, feeling a little silly and maybe disappointed.

 

‘And all this time I thought that my classes were just special.’

 

Loki held out his arm with a corner of the blanket, motioning Tony to sit down. He did, pulling the other end of the warm blanket around his body as far as it reached.

 

‘Well, I  _ did  _ arrange my work accordingly whenever I could, if it makes you feel any better.’

 

It actually did.

 

‘And then what happened? How’d you end up here?’

 

‘About a month ago, some of the expected shipment went missing. About 50 000 dollars worth. I got called to the office. Since I was the newest “employee” and preferred to keep mostly to myself, they obviously suspected me. Some heated words were exchanged, things escalated from there. Next thing I know, three guys were on me. It was partly my own fault, really. I can’t imagine how I could have missed them closing in on me. Anyway I managed to shake them off and… I left.’

 

‘And after that they’ve been searching for you? Because you kicked some guys’ asses and  _ maybe _ stole some of their shit?’

 

‘That, and I  _ may have _ destroyed the rest of the shipment along with torching the boss’ Jaguar. Thanos and his bunch may not be the most intelligent of thugs, but they do hold one hell of a grudge.’

 

‘Wow, Lokes. You don’t mess around, do you? I’ll try and remember that before pissing you off the next time.’

 

‘I’m hoping there won’t be a next time, Tony. Let’s go back inside, I can’t feel my toes.’

  
  


\----------------------------------

  
  


Tony awoke somewhere after dawn. His head was foggy and his surroundings seemed a bit strange. The windows were at the wrong side of the bed and instead of his bathroom door there stood a large dresser and an armchair. He closed his eyes and tried to turn over, but something held him down by his arm. Tony traced it with his free hand. It was Loki’s fist, gripping at his biceps. 

 

Tony squinted through tired eyes - the kid was hidden away under a heap of blankets, only things visible were the pale forearm reaching towards him and a black mop of hair at the other side of the bed. He  felt his heart swell and warmth spread across his body. 

 

Tony closed his eyes once again, leaving his right hand resting on top of Loki’s.

 

In the morning Tony woke up alone, wondering if any of it was real or just a really realistic dream.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, a monster chapter by my standards. Hope it was worth waiting for, maybe answered some of your questions.  
> Looks like Loki's got some tricks up his sleeves? And yes, I did remake U a little, to fit the story. I also have almost no idea what I'm on about when writing some of the tech-stuff. Sorry.  
> Anyway, a thousand hugs for you that have made it that far, your kudos and especially comments keep me going, I love reading your thoughts and opinions! Keep it coming!


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I'm a horrible human being for making you guys wait this long. BUT! I've come with reparations. As in this is one hell of a monster chapter.

The ‘lessons’ Tony and Loki were giving Jarvis were progressing spectacularly, as expected when those two were working on a project. In a week they were almost done with the basic emotions. Loki spent a large proportion of his time in the lab, walking Jarvis through all of the objective tell-tales of a person’s state of mind along with practical tips and examples. 

 

Tony thought he’d make a great teacher.

 

Usually the man himself would leave Loki work in peace, attending to his own things at the other side of the lab. Sometimes he’d just lean on a nearby wall and observe Loki interacting with Jarvis. It was even a little scary how easily Loki could change from playful, working up the anger from somewhere deep inside of him and then in a few minutes he’d be able to calm himself back down, almost as if nothing had happened. 

 

During the spectacle Tony wisely stood in the background. Obviously the kid had some unresolved problems.

 

Sometimes, Tony was dragged into the whole emotional process. Involuntarily, it should be noted.

 

Like when Loki insisted they watch a scary movie, in the middle of which he and Jarvis orchestrated a ‘blackout’ to lure Tony down into the lab. After which green-eyes proceeded to scare his teacher shitless, putting it mildly. For educational purposes, of course. (Like a lot of things they do.) And so Loki sat behind a desk flipping through some notebook or other, discussing Tony’s reaction while the older man was huddled against the couch, clutching his chest, trying to calm his breathing. (After Loki spent several long minutes almost suffocating from laughter.)

 

As Tony finally caught his breath, Jarvis (the traitor!) got another fine example of anger as a reaction.

 

Frustration was also something Jarvis was well acquainted with. 

 

‘Still no progress?’

 

Loki came prowling through the kitchen door, bare feet sounding soft steps on the floorboards.

 

Tony was sitting in the dim room, his face lit up by the computer screen in front of him. He took off his glasses and placed them on the counter, rubbing his eyes and the tired lines around them. 

 

‘Yeah, I can’t get through. It’s so weird. You know, I used to have them eating out of my palm. And now- It’s like they think every idea I pitch is just to sabotage the entire company.’

 

Loki placed a cup of coffee in front of him and bent over the other side of the table, propping his cheek in his palm. A lock of dark hair had escaped from where the rest of it was trapped in a messy bun. Loki tried to blow it away from his face; Tony felt the need to brush it away from the kid’s eyes and twist it between his fingers.

 

‘You’re tired. You should get some rest. It’s still a workday tomorrow.’

 

‘Right. You’re probably right. Come on. I think The Naked Gun is a pretty decent choice for tonight. I’m not watching horror movies with you any time soon.’

 

\----------------------------

 

‘Hey Brucey! My man! My light in the dark, the jelly to my peanut butter!’

 

‘Hey Tony, looks like you’re in a good mood today.’

 

It was Tony’s lunch break and instead of spending his time in the teacher’s lounge he decided to devote some quality time to his favorite science buddy. 

 

He took one of the chairs across the table and started to heave his legs up only to think better of it halfway, settling for stretching them out on the floor instead. Bruce was meticulous about his office (unlike Tony). 

 

‘What can I say, it’s Friday. Everyone should be happy on Friday.’

 

Bruce had a strange look on his face like he really wanted to say something but instead just smiled in that closed-off manner of his and shook his head.

 

‘Here, catch!’

 

Bruce caught the paper bag hauled at his face and peeked inside.

 

‘So what are we eating today? Ooh, chicken wings. Nice. You still haven’t told me where you keep getting those lunches, Tony.’

 

‘These?’ These babies are professional-made.’

 

‘Yes, I already figured that  _ you  _ are not the one behind them.’

 

‘You wound me, Brucie, that really hurts!’ He was gesticulating with his coffee cup. 

 

Bruce didn’t even bother to answer. He instead took another wing from the bag and placed his glasses carefully on the keyboard of his computer.

 

‘So how is your little project progressing? You hardly told me anything about it.’

 

‘Oh yeah! It’s doing great, we’re almost done with the basic stuff. You know, happiness, agitation, anger… I just have a little bit of data to sort out and translate.’

 

‘We?’

 

It took Tony a minute to realise what he had said.

 

‘Well. Yes. You know, me and J. The good old duo. Couldn't have done it without him. Thick as thieves.’

 

‘Okay? You know, I’d love to see him in action. Maybe you could show me how you did it?’

 

Tony swallowed quickly and started rummaging through the bag on his lap for another chicken wing, avoiding Bruce’s eyes.

 

‘Um, yeah. Definitely. Some day. Just- not right now. I’ve got these things, and… the house is a mess. I’m… redecorating? There’s like paint and sawdust. Can’t really have guests like that.’

 

‘Okay, Tony, what’s going on? You’ve been almost acting like a normal person for the last weeks and frankly, it’s a little disconcerting. You’re eating regularly, getting to school on time, I haven’t seen you hangover in ages? You look healthier and happy. But outside of school you’re distancing yourself from your friends.’ Tony was pointedly ignoring him. ‘Tony, are you seeing somebody?’

 

That finally made him look at Bruce.

 

‘What? No!’

 

Bruce’s incredulous face made him lower his voice a little and calm down.

 

‘I’m not seeing anybody.’

 

Or was he? There was a deep frown forming on his forehead as he took a second to contemplate his and Loki’s… cohabitation. Come to think of it, Bruce’s crazy ideas actually made some kind of weird sense. To the outside viewer, his and Loki’s relationship (for lack of a better word) might have seen like a  _ relationship _ . But he and Loki were  _ not _ dating. Tony wasn’t exactly an expert on relationships, but he knew there was something missing, something important. Sex? Romance?

 

Feelings?

 

Of that, he wasn’t sure. Not to mention the fact that during those brief seconds of insight fe failed to even include the huge fact that Loki was his student (!) and only 17 years old (!!!).

 

‘No. There’s no-one,’ more said to himself than anybody else. ‘I’ve just been busy lately.’

 

‘Okay. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining. Not even close. I’m happy for you that you finally got some things sorted out. Whatever it is, it’s clearly a good influence on you. Just as your friend I’m hoping to be a part of whatever it is.’

 

That made Tony stop and look at Bruce. His friend was looking at him, his eyes so honest and earnest, face open and expectant. In that moment he understood the depth of friendship those two shared. Bruce really was happy for him over even the smallest of improvements when Tony himself hadn’t even noticed. 

 

He really wanted to tell him. Wanted to tell him how Loki had made the chicken wings and how he was the one helping him with J’s updates and keeping him busy enough to stop drinking to cure his boredom and solve his problems. And tell Bruce how Loki wasn’t sick at all but safe with him - Tony was keeping him safe. (Because he knew Bruce cared too.) He knew he couldn’t. But he was also tired of lying to his friend.

 

‘Thanks bud. But I just can’t tell you. I wish I could but… not yet, okay?’

 

‘It’s not something illegal, is it?’

 

‘I don’t think so.’

 

‘That’s really not very reassuring, you know that?’

 

They both laughed, Bruce sounding a little worried.

 

‘No, it’s nothing illegal. Look, I’ve gotta run along, you can have the rest.’ Tony stood and gave Bruce the rest of the chicken wings. As he passed, he patted Bruce’s shoulder a few times and gave it a squeeze. Tony felt like he wanted to thank him for being there for him, for caring and to say how much he meant for him. Instead he hoped that all of it would be passed on through his hand on the other man's shoulder.

 

He never was any good with the emotional stuff.

 

\---------------------

 

‘Hey Jarvis?’

 

‘Yes, sir?’

 

‘You see traffic jams anywhere? Show me the fastest route home. I’m starving already.’

 

He pulled closed the car door and started the engine.

 

‘Certainly. The rush hour seems to be all cleared up by now, but if I may, I do suggest we stop by a shopping mall or a convenience store somewhere.’

 

‘What? We’re already out? I went shopping like, yesterday.’

 

‘Not exactly, no, but it has come to my attention that today is Master Loki’s eighteenth birthday. Perhaps you would like to buy a cake or some present?’

 

‘And you’re telling me this only now? Well that means we have a change of plans. Find me the fastest route to the local warehouse. Why didn’t Loki tell me it was his birthday?’

 

‘I’m under the impression he was hoping to keep it a secret, sir.’

 

‘Yeah, no. No way.’

 

It took Tony longer than expected, but by nine o’clock he was finally home. He managed to get in undetected, which wasn’t very difficult since Loki was sitting in his usual spot on the couch, nose buried in a book.

 

‘I was wondering when you’d be home.’

 

Well, almost undetected.

 

‘Yes, here I am. I’ve got something for you.’

 

That made Loki look up and twist himself to face Tony, who was standing in the doorway, still in his shoes and coat, holding a cake, flowers and a sixpack.

 

‘What are you-’

 

‘I wasn’t sure about the flowers, whether you like them or not, but if you don’t, I can throw them away. Also the cake is a bit last minute, I made some calls and got it from that bakery you like-’

 

‘Tony, what is this?’

 

Tony spread open his arms. ‘Happy birthday, Lo.’

 

At first Loki’s brows drew together with confusion, until realisation dawned on him. 

 

‘How did you know? I hadn’t celebrated my birthday in years and I wasn’t going to start now.’

 

‘Jarvis told me, so we’re doing this. Can I have a hug now, ‘cause my arms are getting tired.’

 

The small smile that formed on Loki’s lips seemed to be there almost against his will.

 

‘Alright, but I swear, if you tell anyone else, I will end you, old man.’

 

He got up from the couch and walked into Tony’s open embrace. The hug was warm and grounding and over all too quickly. Loki took the cake and flowers from Tony’s hands.

 

‘These are beautiful. Thank you Tony.’

 

‘Don’t forget the beer.’ Loki laughed, ‘A promise is a promise.’

 

Tony followed the kid (or maybe ‘man’ was more appropriate?) to the kitchen, shrugging off his coat and shoes along the way. He took a seat behind the counter, watching as Loki was filling the vase for the flowers.

 

‘You know, that’s not all I got you.’ He pushed a brand new StarkPhone across the table. ‘It’s the latest model, not even in the stores yet. Tweaked it myself, made some adjustments. Totally untraceable, you could hack the NSA with it if you wanted to. Satellite calls, high-speed unlimited internet, Jarvis of course, you name it.’

 

Loki froze for a second and turned around, eyeing the gift carefully. 

 

‘Why?’

 

‘What do you mean why? I wanted to. Besides, after you disposed of your old phone so tastefully, you need a new one. What if you need to contact me? Or your friends and family? I know about the two encrypted messages you had Jarvis send, using this is much easier. Oh, and it’s waterproof as well. Not sure about coffee though.’

 

Loki rolled his eyes but smiled anyway. ‘Thank you.’

 

He picked up the phone and turned it around in his palm. It had a beautiful simple design with sharp edges and geometrical buttons on the side, on stand-by the screen was almost like a mirror, back case silvery metal, with a small  _ Loki L. _ engraved to the bottom right corner.

 

‘So, wanna have cake and beer?’

 

They spent the next half an hour sitting on the living room floor, backs against the couch, playing with Loki’s new gadget. Tony showed him all the newest features and the modifications he’d done, along with how he’d done it. Loki could see he was very proud indeed of his impromptu birthday gift. Soon the beers were replaced with a bottle of champagne and gin & tonic.

 

‘Loki, can I ask you something?’

 

‘Sure.’

 

‘What were the two messages you had Jarvis send for you?

 

‘I’m surprised you don’t know already.’

 

‘You may find it hard to believe, but I didn’t wanna invade your privacy or what not more than I already do like, all the time. I just figured I’d ask you later.’

 

‘Why didn’t you?’

 

Tony just shrugged, but he knew why. Loki wasn’t as accessible as most people and you could tell just by looking at him that he was the kind who kept his secrets close to him. After a while, it seemed strange to ask, but now there was no denying that Loki’s good mood along with the alcohol was helping to loosen both of their tongues.

 

‘They were for my friend Natasha. The first one was… What exactly did they read again, Jarvis?’

 

‘The first one, sent on 23rd of October, read ‘ _ I’m safe, Frosty _ ’; the second one, sent on 26th of October, ‘ _ 2,3k on 2nd loc - it’s yours. Chaos’ _ .’

 

Tony took a second to think things over. ‘What’s that second one mean? And Frosty? Chaos? What’s up with that?’

 

It seemed terribly amusing for him.

 

‘I had some cash hidden in a place we often used to hang out. Tasha’s a smart girl, she knows what I’m talking about. She also has a tendency to call me stupid nicknames. Almost like you.’

 

Tony laughed as he started mixing himself and Loki another drink. ‘Hey! My nicknames aren’t stupid. They’re  _ awesome _ .’

 

Loki puffed. ‘Of course.’ He pulled his legs close to himself and sat on his hip, facing Tony’s side, resting his cheek on his fist on the table.

 

‘Why didn’t you send a message to your family? Aren’t they worried?’

 

Loki took a sip out of his freshly refilled glass and added a few slices of lemon. Licking his fingers, he gave Tony a devilish smirk. ‘Oh no, you’ve had your fill of questions. It’s my turn now.’

 

Tony was quick to catch on. He made himself comfortable, leaning with his side against the couch, facing Loki. ‘Alright. Shoot away.’

 

‘Why did you step down from your company and start teaching overnight?’

 

He should have known this question would be brought up. Well, better sooner than later, right?

 

‘Um, after what happened in… Afghanistan, I wanted to do something different. Change my legacy, you know? After I’d be gone, I didn’t want people to remember me only as the guy that made guns and acted like the biggest douche. So they offered me this chance, to ‘give back to the community’ and all that. I like teaching, I really do, but I always figured I would have done something bigger by now.’ Tony sighed and took another drink. ‘Okay, my turn. Why is it that you never want to talk about your family?’

 

There was a long pause. Loki was gazing out the window and ignoring Tony. Just as the man thought he wasn’t going to answer, he spoke.

 

‘I ran away. I don’t think they even noticed. After my- mother passed away almost two years ago, the rest of them… They never understood me as she did. There were constant fights, boarding schools, so on. And one day, during another fight, the old man told me the truth. For once. He told me that I was adopted, that’s why I was always so  _ problematic _ ,’ he spat the word, ‘such a nuisance. How I could never be like my  _ golden brother _ . So I left.’

 

Again, silence took hold. There was so many things Tony wanted to ask, but he felt like if he pushed any further, Loki would close off completely and the evening would be ruined. He also wanted to comfort Loki and tell him that the rest of his family must have been a bunch of idiots for acting like this, but he didn’t know how. So he took the only safe path out.

 

‘Okay. Your turn.’

 

Loki shook himself out of his daze with another sip of his drink. After a few seconds of contemplating, he grabbed a slice of lemon from the table and ate it. The sour look on his face made Tony laugh. (Even Loki smiled a little.)

 

‘Tell me about Afghanistan.’

 

Guess it was an evening for painful reminders. He took a gulp of gin straight out of the bottle to fight locking up and asked ‘How much do you know?’

 

‘Only what they told in the media. That there was an attack, some soldiers died, that’s pretty much it.’

 

‘Well, not exactly. Yes, there was an attack. Attempt on my life, actually. Which failed.’ He laughed, a bitter sound, ‘Funny really. The only reason I’m still alive is because a friend of mine -Rhodey- insisted I ride with him instead of the car in front of us. I don’t even know why I accepted. Usually I wouldn’t have. The car in front exploded, there was a shoot-out… It’s all a blur. But people  _ died  _ protecting me from terrorists. Terrorists who were using  _ my own weapons _ . Things like that are a life changing experience.’ 

 

Tony took a small break to catch his breath and take a piece of cake. Maybe another gin&tonic. Loki took it as his que.

 

‘Alright, your turn again.’

 

‘No, I’m not done yet. Might as well finish what I started. Rhodey saved my life that day. But when I got back, I started thinking. How did those terrorists- people who work out of caves- how did they get their hands on my company’s weapons? The most high-tech, expensive weapons? So I did some digging around and as it turned out, the one behind everything was my own business partner, the man who was like a father to me-. He gave them the weapons, payed the terrorists to get rid of me. I confronted him… only one of us walked out from there alive. The rest is history.’ He rubbed his face and took another swig of gin. ‘Okay, now I’m done. Next question. What is it that you’re always doing in that tablet of yours so secret that I can’t know about?’

 

Loki tipped his head to one side and smiled at Tony. A beautiful smile, flirtatious smile.’I’m going to use my veto power and not answer that one.’

 

‘What?’ This was atrocious, ‘I didn’t know we had veto power in this game! In that case, I veto your veto. I won’t take no for an answer.’

 

Loki looked amused. ‘Sorry dear, but that is one thing you won’t get out of me no matter how drunk you try and get me. (‘I’m not trying to get you drunk!’) Trust me, it’s for your own good. And for mine as well, of course. AND since a double-veto, not to mention a refusal of another party’s viewpoints are generally frowned upon, I hereby declare your turn revoked. So I get to go. Who is Pepper?’

 

Tony could only gape like a fish and shake his finger at Loki’s direction. ‘You-- I… You are  _ unbelievable _ !’ Green-eyes looked mighty pleased with himself.

 

‘Agh, fine. Pepper is my friend, and  the CEO of my company. I gave SI to her to run after, you know, everything. And she’s doing a great job of it. Much better than I ever did.’

 

‘You were in a relationship with her?’

 

‘For a while, yeah. The only real relationship I’ve ever had. And it was great, also for a while. But you know, women have these things called ‘expectations’. They expect you to, I don’t know, buy them flowers and take them to dinner and let them move in and when you finally give in, they want more flowers and dinners and they make a big deal out of you spending your nights working or having a few drinks while you’re at it… And then they want to get married and have kids… It just never stops, you know. But Pepper, she was an angel. She knew how I am. She gave in wherever she could, and where she couldn’t… We both decided it was best to end things when we could still save our friendship.’

 

‘Tell me about it. I once had a girl that wanted us to get a flat together after a month and a half. She went hysterical when I tried to reason with her. I wasn’t even 16 at the time, mind you. I ended things pretty soon after that, obviously.’

 

‘Girlfriend?’

 

Loki nodded as he stirred the rest of his drink with his finger and sucked the remaining drops on the digit to his mouth. He laughed at Tony’s mildly (to his credit) shocked expression. ‘Yes, I’ve had a girlfriend. Two of them, actually. And a boyfriend. None of them lasted more than a few months.’

 

‘So, both?’ Tony tried to play it cool, but in reality he was fascinated. For a man of Loki’s age, he sure had some history behind him which made him somehow infinitely more interesting and mature. No wonder Tony usually forgot how young he actually was.

 

Loki smirked. ‘Yes. It depends on what I want at the moment.’

 

‘And what do you want right now?’ Tony should have been cursing that traitorous mouth of his right now, but somewhy he wasn’t. He couldn’t even blame the alcohol - he was barely tipsy and much the same seemed to be going for Loki as well.

 

Loki locked those green eyes straight with Tony’s brown ones and said ‘You.’

 

That small word was anything but simple. Those three letters, spoken so deep and intense, opened up so many doors for Tony that he felt his head start to swim. He tried to open his mouth, feeling the need to say something,  _ anything _ , but no words came out. Not even warm breath.

 

Loki broke the moment by turning back to his glass. ‘Your turn.’

 

For a moment, Tony felt like his mind was filled with static. He tried to clear his mind and focused on Loki’s hands fiddling with the cocktail on the table. ‘Tell me about your tattoos.’

 

Loki wasn’t surprised. It was easy to see from the very beginning that Tony was fascinated with the ink on his arms.

 

He extended his left arm towards his teacher. There was a ornamental dagger tattooed to his inner forearm. 

 

‘This is the most recent one, I got it after I left home. A symbolic way of cutting the ties, if you will.’

 

Tony raised his arm to trace the lines on Loki’s skin, stopping just barely out of reach, looking at the other for permission. After Loki nodded, he let his fingertips touch the pale skin, tracing the lines of the knife as well as admiring the contrast his own tanned hand made.

 

Loki’s skin was almost unnervingly smooth and cool, but to Tony, it felt as if it was on fire, making his fingertips tingle. He nearly  _ heard _ their touches crackle with electricity as they made contact. He was reminded of the dance they almost shared that one night at the club. This was dangerous territory.

 

‘What else?’

 

Loki stood and Tony rose instinctively with him. He pulled off his shirt, revealing the tangled lines of black ink on his shoulders and arms. 

 

‘This one,’ he motioned to the majestic wolf on his right shoulder, ‘is the first one I ever did. I was fourteen at the time.’ A brief laugh escaped his lips - here and gone again. ‘Caused a huge fight, obviously. Had some new work done around it from time to time, a little remodelling as my body grew.’

 

By now the huge wolf was surrounded by a jungle of different symbols, ornaments and flowers. It really was a piece of art. Tony stepped closer to trace his fingers along the tattoo as it ran from the crook of his neck all the way down to his elbow. He felt Loki shudder under his touch, his dark nipples were hard little nubs, waiting to be touched. The tingle in Tony’s fingertips was spreading, he felt the hair on his arms stand up. Dangerous territory indeed.

 

‘And this-’ Their eyes locked. Tony realised how close he was to Loki, but once again he was trapped in those green eyes and for the life of him couldn’t pull away. ‘It’s of my mother.’ Loki seemed to be a little out of breath.

 

Tony felt his hand move on it’s own to Loki’s other shoulder, by now being helpless to stop it. He traced the beautiful angel caressing Loki’s shoulder, surrounded by a halo of flowers and ribbons. Loki shuddered again. 

 

This time Tony couldn’t help himself. He pressed his whole palm against Loki’s skin and moved closer, so did the other. They were so close their chests were almost touching, Tony looking slightly up into Loki’s green eyes which felt like were staring straight back into his soul. Loki’s mouth was slightly open, Tony felt his warm breath on his face.

 

‘We can’t do this,’ Tony whispered. His voice wasn’t strong enough for anything else.

 

‘Yes, we can.’

 

And suddenly, he felt Loki’s lips on his own. He wasn’t sure which one of them finally closed the distance in the end, but it was gone now and it was all that mattered.

 

It was nothing like they said in the movies or wrote in the books. He didn’t feel lightheaded or as if the wind had been knocked out of him. It was just the opposite - Tony felt as if he got his first breath of fresh air in months, like up until now he was slowly drowning without even realising it. 

 

Everything around him besides Loki ceased to exist, he didn’t hear the TV playing silently in the background, nor did he feel the floor underneath his feet. His chest seemed to expand; it felt as if some weight had rolled off his back and he became so weightless he could float.

 

The kiss started off slowly, both of them testing the waters, learning each other’s lips. Loki’s were a little chapped and rough from where the lip balm hadn’t helped (he had a habit of worrying his lips between his teeth whenever he was thinking, Tony knew that), it was so different from what Tony was used to and he loved it. 

 

What started off as an innocent kiss soon enough turned into a firestorm. As soon as Loki parted his lips just a little, Tony slipped his tongue into his mouth, tasting him, dancing with Loki’s tongue; finally taking charge. Loki moaned as Tony let his hand grab a hold of Loki’s hair, using the other on his lower back to close off any remaining distance between them. Loki’s hands were roaming all over his body, circling to his back and disappearing under his shirt. 

 

Loki rolled his hips in a purely  _ sinful _ way, creating sweet friction between their rapidly forming erections. Tony groaned. This was the last straw for him. They broke for air, both panting, and Tony let Loki coax open the last few remaining buttons of his shirt and slide it off over his shoulders.

 

‘I need you, right now. I don’t care. I need you, Lo,’ Tony prayed against Loki’s lips. He hardly recognized his own voice.

 

‘Then have me.’

 

They half kissed, half stumbled their way upstairs, Tony leading Loki into his own bedroom, closing the door behind them and pushing Loki against it, trapping him with his body, ravishing him, fisting his hair and roaming his body. The kiss turned almost violent, tongues fighting for dominance, teeth biting at lips and necks. Tony wasn’t sure if he could contain himself, both of them panting.

 

Loki scraped his nails over Tony’s shoulder blades and down his chest and abs, making quick work of his teacher’s zipper. The feel of Loki’s hand around his member made Tony almost weak at the knees. He dropped his head on Loki’s shoulder.

 

‘Lo. Loki. Lokilokiloki. You’re killing me.’

 

Tony kissed him again, using the temporary distraction to maneuver him towards the bed, letting Loki fall back when his thighs hit the mattress. Taking a step backwards, he took a calming breath and tried to sound commanding.

 

‘Undress for me.’

 

Loki smirked, his cheeks pink and hair a mess, ‘I thought you’d never ask.’

 

As Loki complied, Tony got a moment to appreciate the willing body before him, slender and graceful, illuminated by the porch lights and the moonlight pouring in from the windows. Loki’s hair was forming a dark halo around his head, eyes dark with lust, the crown of his straining cock weeping on his stomach.

 

Tony leaned over him and ran a calloused hand along the body beneath him, feeling the hot skin pulled over taut muscle and tendons; revealing the lean power underneath.

 

Loki pushed himself higher on the bed and Tony followed, trailing wet kisses all over his sides and stomach. Reaching one of Loki’s nipples, he sucked the nob into his mouth, twirling it with his tongue and lightly biting down on it. He heard Loki’s sharp inhale and felt him arching his back underneath, trying to get some friction from Tony’s thigh between his legs.

 

After giving Loki’s other side the same treatment, he moved on to Loki’s neck, leaving red butterflies in his wake, finally reaching his lips.

 

Tony felt Loki’s hands trail down his back and slide under his waistband, pulling down his jeans in the process.

 

‘Are you sure?’

 

Loki bit his lower lip and pulled at it with his teeth.

 

‘Yes. I want this. I want you.’

 

He pulled Tony inta a brief kiss after which his teacher pulled away and reached into his bedside drawer (the top one, this time) and pulled out a bottle of lube and a condom, discarding the rest of his clothes in the process. 

 

Tony climbed back onto the bed and replaced Loki’s own hand, which had been caressing the inside of his pale thigh, running deeper each time around. He pushed one of Loki’s flexed knees open, propping the other leg on his shoulder. ‘You are fucking gorgeous,’ he said, kissing at the calf on his shoulder, caressing it.

 

Loki didn’t respond, just admired Tony between his legs, the lust-blown eyes of his teacher drinking him in, his tanned hands stroking his skin. 

 

Tony popped open the bottle and coated his fingers with the sticky liquid, bringing it to Loki’s crotch, giving his member a few teasing strokes and fondling his balls.

 

Loki instinctively arched his back and tried to pull Tony closer with the leg on his shoulder, hands twitching at his sides to keep from interfering. Tony bit his lip, his own member was becoming increasingly harder to ignore.

 

Tony let his fingers trail down towards Loki’s entrance, circling around it, teasing him. Only when he heard a plea of his name did Tony let his index finger slip inside, working slowly in and out, making Loki’s skin crawl. Then adding another finger, Tony kept his slow pace, eventually working deeper, scissoring his fingers, stretching Loki, coaxing him open. Adding a third digit, he finally moved a little faster, curling his fingers until he hit the one spot that made Loki’s toes curl and a gasp escape his lips. 

 

The feeling of Loki tightening around his fingers made Tony’s want unbearable. He pulled out his fingers and positioned himself with as much self-control as he managed, making quick work of the condom. Holding his shaft to guide himself, he looked at Loki for final confirmation. The younger man looked purely decadent, his high cheekbones decorated with a deep red flush, his hands fisting the sheets overhead, lips glistening and crimson from the kisses they shared. Loki nodded and Tony licked his lips, guiding himself inside with as much restraint as he could muster.

 

Tony sheathed himself slowly, inch by inch, letting his eyes slip closed and brow furrow in concentration. The heat and tightness of Loki was overwhelming, his fingers were forming deep bruises on the pale skin of his thigh. Finally sheathed, he managed to open his eyes to look at Loki. It felt like reaching home. After a moment, Loki nodded his signal for his teacher to move. Tony slowly pulled out and back in with an even, gentle pace, giving Loki enough time to get used to the intrusion and to tell him to stop, if needed. 

 

After a few thrusts, his self control slipped and he rammed back inside sharper than he intended to, eliciting a sharp cry from Loki. 

 

Tony’s face was filled with concern. ‘I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, Lo. Are you okay?’

 

After a brief moment of consideration, Loki replied: ‘Yeah. Do that again.’

 

‘Are you sure?’

 

‘I’m not some fragile virgin you need to coddle, Anthony.’

 

Tony slammed back inside, a little bit more forceful this time, testing the waters. Another cry fell from Loki’s lips, turning halfway into a moan. The response made Tony more confident, gaining speed and strength with every thrust. He let Loki’s leg fall from his shoulder and leaned in, grabbing a handful of his hair with one hand, smashing their lips together in a soaring kiss.

 

‘Say it again. Say my name.’

 

Loki wrapped his legs around Tony’s back and recited into his ear like a mantra: ‘Tony, Tony, Tony.  _ Anthony _ .’

 

Tony snapped his hips suddenly forward and made Loki nearly rip his back open with his nails, his toec curling and head thrown back, a rough ‘Ahh!’ ripped through his chest. Tony tried to reposition himself to hit the same spot again, making dots dance in front of Loki’s vision and fire dance through his veins. 

 

Loki resumed his mantra of ‘yes’ and ‘faster’ and ‘ _ Anthony _ ’’s, making Tony feel like losing control. His speed growing with every thrust, he pushed himself up on his hands to get a better angle and to marvel at the sight underneath him.

 

He knew he wasn’t going to last much longer. The display of Loki, so perfect and forbidden, stroking himself to the rhythm of his own thrusts made it nearly impossible. With another sharp snap of his hips, he heard Loki cry out and arch underneath him, clenching around Tony’s cock as he spent himself all over his own stomach. All of this pushed Tony finally over the edge. Grabbing Loki by his hips, he made the last few thrusts, letting his own climax took hold. 

 

Slowly coming down, he pulled himself free from Loki’s body, discarding the condom and wiping them clean with the lower edge of the blanket. For a few minutes they just lay there side by side, catching their breaths, soaking in the afterglow.

 

‘Let’s shower tomorrow,’ Loki said, as he finally nudged Tony under the sheets.

 

Tony kissed him for one more time, letting Loki wrap around him like an octopus. ‘Good idea.’

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes?


	14. Chapter 14

It was slow coming, finding that blurry line between sleep and wakefulness. Often moments spent in between were the sweetest of them all.

 

Tony was distantly aware of the heavy warmth surrounding him, the softness of the pillow under his head, infinitely snug and cosy with the haze of a pleasant dream still clinging to the back of his mind. It had long been since Tony had the luxury of waking up so amiably. He came to realise that the warmth was coming from a body snuggled between his arms. He buried his nose in the other’s hair and inhaled a sweet smell of faint rain and distant glaciers, mixed with traces of shampoo and soft skin. It was a smell Tony’d searched for before, he was aware, and finding it now gave him a sense of satisfaction. He pulled the body closer, not in a sexual way but just because it felt good.

 

As Tony slowly opened his eyes, he was temporarily blinded by the sun of early winter, low enough to shine straight through the windows. As his vision adjusted, he was greeted by a sight of black hair and a pale smooth shoulder pressed against his chest. It only took a second to identify the owner of said body parts as Loki.

 

Tony was flooded with memories from last night, each consecutive one more delicious. He didn’t panic. There was no point. Both of them had wanted it (Tony still wanted it, god how he wanted, wanted  _ everything _ ), needed it last night, but he also knew it couldn’t happen again. No matter how right it had felt back then, Tony kept telling himself that it  _ wasn’t _ and that he shouldn’t. But right now he slipped his eyes closed and let himself bask in the pure bliss he was feeling for one more minute, trying (and somehow succeeding) to push the feeling of impending doom to the back of his mind. 

 

He opened his eyes again as Loki shifted onto his back, slowly turning his head to look at Tony through long lashes and sleepy eyes. The sun reflecting off his disheveled hair cast a round of halo around him, his cheeks dusted pink from a good night’s rest. ‘ _ Beautiful _ ’ was the only word Tony could think of.

 

‘Good morning’

 

‘Hey,’ Loki gave him a slow smile. His eyes were the most vibrant shade of green Tony had ever seen. ‘What time is it?’

 

‘I have no idea. Late, probably. Jarvis?’

 

‘It is currently 10.42, Sir.’

 

Loki only ‘hmm’-ed in response and let his eyes slip closed once again. Tony felt his left hand caressing his thigh under the covers, slowly snaking upwards towards his hip. He stopped Loki’s hand by the wrist, gently but surely. 

 

‘Listen, Loki. I, um-, I don’t want you to think that I regret anything because I don’t and last night was-- amazing, but this can’t happen again. You know that, right?’

 

Loki didn’t even bother opening his eyes, he only frowned slightly. 

 

‘Oh, please. Don’t start with this crap.’

 

Tony wasn’t sure on what kind of reaction he was expecting, but that wasn’t it. (By now he probably should have known better to expect the unexpected when it came to Loki.) He sat up, his face a study in confusion. The only thing he thought of to say after ten seconds of silence was ‘What?!’

 

Loki opened his eyes to look at Tony. As soon as they made eye contact, even the small frown on his face disappeared; he looked as calm as a Hindu cow, maybe even a hint of amusement lurking somewhere underneath.

 

‘Why? You and I both know we enjoy each other’s company and there’s no harm done. I just don’t see why you insist on making such a big commotion out of it.’

 

‘What? A big commotion? Loki, I’m old enough to be your father!’

 

Loki rolled his eyes. Tony couldn’t believe it. He  _ actually _ rolled his eyes at him. Suddenly he felt like laughing. He quickly bit down on his cheek and schooled his expression. 

 

‘Leave my  _ father _ out of this. And I think you are being a little melodramatic. You’re not  _ that _ old and besides, I don’t care. If you think about it, a person’s age is completely irrelevant. Or is it the other way around? Am I too immature for you? Too child-like?’

 

That last thought seemed to come to Loki just now. He looked troubled, as if it hadn’t occurred to him before that it might be  _ him _ that was the root of the problem. (Somewhere in the back of Tony’s mind he registered that he was becoming a little better on reading Loki’s expressions. That, or Loki was slowly lowering his guard around him.)

 

‘No! Not that, no, it’s got nothing to with who you are as a person. But you’re my student, Loki. It’s not right, not to mention the scandal it would cause at the school (or nationwide, for that matter) if someone found out about this. Teachers aren’t allowed to--  _ see  _ their students, everybody knows that!’

 

Loki’s expression had calmed, but the amusement was now nowhere to be seen. Tony was hoping it was a good sign, that Loki was taking this conversation seriously and that he could make him understand. 

 

‘Okay, so I’ll quit school. Done. I don’t care. I will let myself be exmatriculated as soon as I’ve set these other things straight.’

 

Dammit.

 

‘What? Are you crazy?! No way you are quitting school, you’re only a few months away from graduating!’

 

‘Fine then. I just want you to tell me straight if it’s the idea of  _ me  _ you’re opposed to. Stop making up some half-ass excuses for yourself. Nobody has to know. Just look into my eyes and tell me the truth - do you want me or not?’

 

Tony had a sinking feeling that he was losing this argument. But he couldn't deny it. ‘I do. Dear god, I do.’

 

Loki let a small smile slip onto his lips. ‘As I said, everything else is irrelevant. Now come here.’

 

Tony let himself be pulled down to meet Loki’s lips in a slow and languid kiss. He just couldn’t deny him. It suddenly felt like they had all the time in the world. Maybe he hadn’t fought Loki as much as he should have, but now he saw that his heart wasn’t really into it right from the start. In the end, how would  _ this _ change anything right now? Loki was still in hiding just the same as he had been before. Maybe in the future, things would need to change on some accounts, but that was for future-Tony to figure out. If there even  _ was  _ a future. They still hadn’t decided what  _ this _ was, exactly - it had sounded like a conversation on actual honest-to-god relationship, but he couldn’t be sure. Right now all he cared about were Loki’s lips moving in sync with his, Loki’s tongue, as it slipped out and licked along his bottom lip, Loki’s neck like a column of white marble to adore which perfection he had promptly ruined with a dark red of a love bite, Loki’s erection pressing insistently into Tony’s stomach. 

 

(Tony wondered idly whether Loki had been hard the whole time they were arguing. He must have.)

 

He pulled back for a second, opening his eyes to look at Loki, as if to make sure whether he was indeed as beautiful as he had remembered a minute ago. Lying underneath him in the morning sun on Tony’s Egyptian cotton sheets, his face a little flushed and somehow more opened, Tony decided that he was even more so. He felt a sudden pull to caress Loki’s cheeks and brush back a few strands of hair from his forehead, but that felt too intimate. So he continued kissing him instead, deeper and more insistently, pulling small moans and gasps from the body underneath him as their erections rubbed together (Tony was pointedly ignoring the sounds that came tumbling from his own lips).

 

Only when Loki’s nails threatened to scrape the skin right off his back did Tony encircle both of them in a loose fist, stroking them to completion. 

 

When the high was wearing off and the sweat on their skin cooling, Loki rolled himself out of bed and held out a hand to Tony, a devilish smirk playing on his lips.

 

‘Come, now. Let’s go shower. Or are you too tired, old man?’

 

\-----------------------

 

The rest of the weekend seemed to fly past them in an orgasmic ecstasy. Tony was sure that in the last 48 hours they’ve set up an new record - if not yet ( _ yet _ ? - oh my god) for the world, then he was definitely beating his own personal best by far. They should make sex an Olympic sport, indeed - he could get behind  _ that _ , for sure (hahaa, get it?).

 

It seemed that Loki’s appetite for him was insatiable and Tony just couldn’t get enough. He felt like sixteen again. The moments they weren’t at it in Tony’s bedroom (or Loki’s… or on the couch, or the kitchen table, or the shower, or the-- Well, you get the point), they spent mostly in the living room watching TV with a forgotten bottle of wine and boxes of takeout, tasting more each other’s lips then the actual food.

 

They were making up for all of the months of sexual tension. With pre-crysis interests, it seemed. Work, or anything related, was the last thing on either of their minds. Tony’s phone kept ringing and the emails were piling up, but the hardly had the time (or want) to return them. 

 

Tony knew that at some point they were going to have to talk things straight, to find out what it was that they wanted and where they stood, but he also knew that this wasn’t the time for it. First, he needed to figure out those things for  _ himself _ .

 

All he knew that he didn’t want this to stop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, it's a short one, and kind of a transition-chapter, if you catch my drift.   
> And it's like this on purpose. I've decided that from now on, I'll try and post a little shorter chapters, hopefully so that I can update more often and keep myself motivated.


	15. Chapter 15

‘...and Y, then the other angles, C and Z, must also be congruent. So,’  _ -vzzzzt- _ ‘umm… now we have angle A, side AC and angle C congruent to angle X, side XZ and angle Z. And that's angle-side-angle, or ASA. That means,’ - _ vzzzzt- -vzzzzt- _ ‘ah, that means that the HA theorem is really just a simplification or variation of the ASA postulate that works with right triangles. Okay? Easy as pie. Let’s take the first example, yeah? Kensley, what about you?’ 

 

It was hard for Tony to concentrate. Every time his phone buzzed, he felt the overpowering need to check it, so his eyes kept returning to the teacher’s desk where he had left it (Tony figured it out pretty early on that having something vibrate in your jeans pocket wasn’t a good thing - especially when he knew from who the messages were from and what was in them). He was sure his students had noticed it as well. It was only second period and to Tony it felt like the schoolday was never going to end. 

 

He passed the marker over to the unfortunate soul sitting in front of him and walked back to his table, suppressing the outlandish desire to run. 

 

_ 2 unread text messages, 1 unread picture message _ , his phone read.

 

‘ _ i’m sure you would ;) _ ’ Loki

 

‘ _ but I’m not confident how long I can hold out _ ’ Loki

 

The last message was followed by a picture of Loki in front of the bedroom mirror, wearing only low-cut gray jeans, fly unzipped with Tony’s red boxers showing from underneath, his left hand grabbing at his crotch. Loki’s eyes were staring right at him, lower lip trapped between his teeth in a wicked smile. Tony rubbed his palm across his mouth (to stop himself from drooling? - probably). He was not getting up from this chair anytime soon, that’s for sure. 

 

In the last hour or so, he and Loki had been exchanging a series of progressively mischievous messages alongside with pictures of green-eyes removing his clothes one-by-one. As it now turned out, all of them weren’t even  _ his _ . Tony wasn’t entirely sure he wouldn’t at some point just say ‘fuck this’ and race back home to the teasing bastard. 

 

‘ _ ur making this so hard on me Lo _ ’ Tony

 

He dropped his phone intently back on the table and tried to focus on the class. He heard  it go off again and promised himself not to read the messages until recess. After answering a few questions from the students, he looked down on his lap and discovered the phone in his hands, his thumb already on the fingerprint reader.

 

‘ _ well I’m hoping I’m not making YOU hard, Anthony _ ’ Loki

 

So much for promises, then. 

 

This Monday had already started off as one of the most challenging mornings Tony can remember. As pleasant (and pleasurable) as his waking had been, trying to rip himself out of Loki’s warm presence and into the shower had been a real test of character. He had no lunch to take with him this time due to obvious reasons, but while Tony was in the shower, Loki had managed to whip up some eggs and bacon while U was busy with a cup of coffee. After they ate, Tony threw some random papers and a laptop into his briefcase and kissed Loki goodbye. In hindsight maybe they got a little carried away and Tony would have been just fine standing in the hallway the whole day sliding his tongue down Loki’s throat soon ready for another round, when green-eyes had abruptly pushed him out of the door with a last teasing caress of his tongue across Tony’s lips and his hand down the front of his jeans.

 

Without a single word further he closed the front door right in Tony’s face, who had no other choice than to get in his car and drive off. (Amazingly enough he wasn’t even late - his streak still stood!)

 

‘ _ guess youll have to wait and see until i get home _ ’ Tony

 

To be fair, it was Tony that had started texting the other. Things had begun innocent enough, but after the first few messages, everything had started spiralling down the same path they were so eager to follow. It probably would have been best if Tony just turned off his phone or left it in the teacher’s lounge, but it already felt like an addiction. 

 

After the class had cleared out, Tony was left still sitting at his desk, fixated on the last picture Loki had sent him. Mesmerized (and distracted by his own imagination), he failed to hear the knock on his door.

 

‘Hey, Tony!’

 

Startled, he almost dropped his phone. A little panicky, Tony straightened up and fumbled to hide it under the Maths book on the table.

 

‘Oh sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you! I knocked, but I suppose you didn’t hear me. Guess you were really zoned out, huh?’

 

Steve. It was goddamn Captain Underpants who had almost snuck up on him. Still dazed, he only managed an awkward ‘Um, heey’ in return.

 

The uninvited visitor leaned against the desk across Tony’s and crossed his hands over his chest in that weirdly sincere-slash-patronizing way of his and just sat there for a moment, looking at him. Had it been Bruce (or even Maria, Tony never intended on doing the mistake of underestimating her), he may have been worried on what secrets he was unwillingly giving away. But Steve just stood there patiently smiling, like it was Tony that had just barged into  _ his _ office, interrupting  _ his  _ important stuff.

 

‘So, what’s… up?’

 

Steve smiled even wider, his ridiculously blue eyes staring into Tony’s brown ones. That look made him feel like a misbehaved kid, caught doing something naughty.

 

Or maybe it was because he  _ almost had _ .

 

‘We were thinking about meeting up in my place later today, have some dinner, watch the game, maybe have a few beers? I have mostly non-alcoholic ones, so if you want regular, take ‘em with you. Bruce’ll be there, Maria, Brennan and Mark from IT. What do you say?’

 

‘Wow Stevie, non-alcoholic beers on a Monday? You sure like to live wild, cowboy. Thanks, but not this time. I’m a little busy. Next time.’

 

Tony saw a small frown form on Steve’s forehead. ‘You sure, Tony?’  _ It doesn’t sound like you _ . It wasn’t said, but was implied loud and clear.

 

‘Yep, I have some nailing that needs doing and can’t wait another hour.’ Oh, he couldn’t help himself with old gullible Steve. To be fair, he managed to keep a totally straight face the whole time.

 

‘Oh, well in that case… some other time, yeah?’

 

He was almost at the door when he stopped and faced Tony once more. ‘Are you okay Tony?’

 

Oh great. Another one.

 

‘Yep. Absolutely.’

 

Steve stood by the door, his hand already gripping the handle, assessing something about him. 

 

‘Are you sure?’

 

‘Never better.’

 

The smile on Tony’s face must have looked genuine enough, because Steve answered it in kind. (Maybe because it was.) ‘I’m happy for you.’

 

The phone buzzing in his hand made Tony miss the moment Steve closed the door behind him. (How had it wound up there again?) Another picture message from Loki. The pressing in his trousers that had seemed to had abated during the conversation with Steve appeared to be awaking once more. He felt the familiar heat start to coil in his belly.

 

He opened the message which contained an image of Loki in nothing but his red silk boxers (the ones that were mildly see-through), his full erection pressed across his right thigh, free hand gripping at the pale soft flesh of the other one. 

 

‘ _ may i? _ ’ Loki

‘ _ please? _ ’ Loki

 

Oh boy. Tony was not going to last like this for long.

 

\--------------------

 

‘You unbelievable bastard! Do you have any idea what kind of a torture it was to be stuck at school trying to deal with a bunch of teenagers while you were at home doing…  _ THINGS _ , teasing me for all you’re worth?’

 

The second Tony was through the front door, he had Loki pinned against the wall by his shoulders, one knee thrust between the other’s legs, keeping him in place. The wicked smile with which green-eyes had been regarding him with had only sharpened as Tony crossed the hall almost as a man possessed. By now he was grinning ear-to-ear, looking eerily like a cheshire cat with a little birdie caught between its claws to play with. In Tony’s opinion it should have been the other way around. Loki licked his lips - slowly, sensually, and absolutely deliberately. 

 

‘Oh, yes. I enjoyed every second of it. And I will unquestionably do so again. Tsk, tsk,’ he ran a long finger along the crisp edge of his stubble, following down the line of his throat, ‘the great and unattainable Tony Stark, reduced to a needy mess _ ,  _ rubbing it out in the men’s bathroom. If only your colleagues knew...’ Another lick of his lips, faster this time, perhaps unintentional, followed by a click of a dry throat as he tried to swallow. ‘Thank you for the pictures, by the way.’

 

Tony leaned in and whispered against Loki’s lips, ‘You-- are an absolute nightmare.’

 

He hastily took away Loki’s opportunity to answer (there definitely would have been something snarky Loki would have come up with - of that Tony was sure) by pressing their lips together. Tony quickly felt the grin melt away under him the same as all the rest of the kid - what was pillar of wired muscle and cutting defiance before was a mass of soft warm clay underneath Tony in just seconds, ready to be made anew, anything the older man wanted. Loki was practically mewling on every breath he took, his body pressed as close as possible, both hands obediently raised overhead against the wall, fists clenching and unclenching in their own forgetful pace. 

 

Tony stepped away from the wall, hands planted on Loki’s hips as the kid let himself be guided freely, not bothering to open his eyes or even break the kiss when he felt the edge of the kitchen table pressing into his thighs or Tony hoist him up by his hips to rest on the smooth surface. The new position gave Loki freedom to wrap his legs around his teacher’s waist and press in even closer, pushing away his unbuttoned coat and slowly digging his way under the man’s shirt. 

 

After a while of fumbling blindly Loki’s patience ran out and he broke the kiss, still tugging on the blended fabric of his shirt. ‘Get this thing off Tony, for all that is holy!’

 

Everyone knew ripping open shirts didn’t go as well in real life as it did in the movies. Especially with the high-end tailored stuff such as this. 

 

Tony had managed to only unbutton the shirt when Loki had already pulled his t-shirt over his head (with a lot less steady fingers than he had a few minutes ago) and was dragging Tony in for another heated kiss. The man followed gladly, pushing Loki flat on the table as he went. Their bare chests pressed together, Loki desperately trying to grind himself onto the body above him.

 

Tony ran a wet tongue down the shell of Loki’s ear and whispered in hot breath ‘ _ Do you even have any idea what you’re doing to me? _ ’He ran a frantic hand along one still-dressed thigh, ‘ _ Such a delicious thing as you, I might want to keep you here forever. Hide you away, just for me _ .’

 

He hadn’t meant to, it just slipped out. Loki didn’t answer, only kissed him again, more fiercely than he had before, sliding Tony’s hands to the waistband of his sweatpants.

 

He took the cue and rid Loki of his pants, bending back in to give green-eyes a brief kiss. Standing back and roaming the pale skin with his hands, caressing Loki’s hard prick almost as a fragile work of art, afraid to damage but still not above the desire to admire. 

 

He let Loki’s dexterous tongue wet three of his fingers (the act even more erotic than it sounds) and took the first digit to Loki’s entrance, ready to prepare him. When the first one slipped in without any resistance soon followed by a second one, Tony raised to look at Loki, an amused (and incredibly horny) smile plastered on his face.

 

Loki didn’t blush, he only eyed the man in front of him through lowered lashes. ‘You said I could.’

 

He handed Tony a condom, where ever he had gotten it. And  _ there  _ it was, the small smirk on his lips Tony had been waiting for.

 

‘Do you have any-’

 

‘No. I don’t need it. I want to - I  _ need _ to feel this tomorrow, Anthony.’

 

He’d be lying if this sentence hadn’t sent chills running all over Tony’s body. Suddenly time seemed short. He unzipped his jeans and pulled the condom on, forgetting about any further undressing, as if Loki would change his mind if he took too long. In a second, he was slowly pushing into Loki, whose legs were still wrapped around Tony’s hips, the bottom lip trapped between his teeth, turning white from how hard he was biting at it. Tony didn’t bother to ask if everything was okay - by now he was positive that Loki would tell him if it was too much. And if he failed to give green-eyes what he wanted, he’d be contentious at least the whole day tomorrow, probably longer. And Tony’d never hear the end of it. 

 

Without giving Loki time to fully adjust, Tony started thrusting forward and pulling back, again and again, picking up speed until it was almost punishing. Loki’s hands were fisted into the open lapels of his shirt, his red lips spilling one deliciously dirty word after another. Tony supported one of his hands on Loki’s pale ribcage, with the other one taking a hold of his erection, pumping it in time with his thrusts, from time to time sliding his calloused thumb over the sensitive head. It didn’t take long for either of them. Maybe later they could do it the proper way, taking things slow to map each others curves and dips and hollows, drawing the pleasure out. But right now, they needed to release some tension. Tension they had built up by themselves in the course of the day. 

 

After they both felt like moving again, Tony gave still naked Loki a piggy-back ride to his bedroom when Loki claimed to be too fucked-out to be climbing stairs and promised to make them some sandwiches to go with the schoolwork both of them needed to get back to. 

 

Obviously, he hadn’t taken account on how much work it was physically possible to get done with a completely naked Loki lying right next to you under the covers.

 

I guess you could say life was all right.


	16. Chapter 16

‘Ugh! These fuckers are impossible to persuade!’ 

 

Tony was finally home. Not only did his plan for the board meeting completely fail, he was forced to stay late for some charity fundraiser or what not. Everyone knew Tony Stark no longer did big fundraisers. ALSO everyone knew that he hated mandatory appearances. Especially now that he actually had something to get back to at home. 

 

He kicked off his shoes and threw the portfolio into a corner, perhaps using a little more force than was really necessary. Giving it a good kick in the passing, as well. At least that made him feel a little better.

 

‘What is it that you’re doing there, Lo?’

 

Loki was lying on the couch facing Tony, scrolling away in his tablet. With Tony’s question he turned off the screen and threw it aside. 

 

‘Nothing that should concern you, Tony.’

 

‘You know, I could just let J unlock it and see for myself.’ He took his regular spot under Loki’s feet, draping his coat over the armrest. 

 

‘You could.’ But he knew he wouldn’t. ‘So how did your day go?’ A smooth change of subject, indeed.

 

‘Yeah. It was good. Everything went perfectly. I was actually really happy with the end result, plus the fundraiser I told you about was a lot of fun. Didn’t want to leave.’ Loki smiled.

 

‘Jarvis?’ 

 

‘There is a 78 per cent possibility that Sir was telling a lie. If I were to combine said estimate with my prior knowledge of Sir’s schedule and the data gathered from his interactions throughout the day, I would increase that estimate up to 98 per cent.’

 

By now, Loki was positively beaming. Even Tony couldn’t help but smile a little. They were finally at the testing phase of their little project. It wasn’t perfect by far, Jarvis still had a lot to learn, but it was a start.

 

‘And based on what did you reach such a conclusion?’

 

‘Prior to telling a lie, Sir’s heart rate elevated by 6 beats per minute, his pupils dilated by 23 per cent and his blinking slowed down. In addition, I detected a slight rise of skin temperature around his eyes and nose; and he was tapping the fourth digit of his left hand into his palm. Not to mention his obviously agitated behavior upon entering the room.’

 

Oh, Loki was so proud. He blew one of J’s cameras a quick kiss and mouthed ‘brilliant’ at it while Tony was still busy inspecting his hands in a confused expression. 

 

‘I was what?’

 

Loki let his cheek fall against the backrest of the sofa, his free hand slowly combing through the tangles in his hair. 

 

‘You tend to do that when you lie.’

 

That was crazy. He didn’t. Surely.

 

And how the hell did Loki even notice these kind of things?

 

‘When have I ever lied to you?’

 

The smile on Loki’s lips was still there, but it had mellowed out a little, no longer a sharp grin of pride but just an unconditional, accepting one. He studied Tony’s baffled expression through half-lidded eyes. 

 

‘Just small things, sometimes. Like when you say you were working when in reality you spent most of the time watching Game of Thrones bloopers. Or that time you said you liked my stuffed chicken breast even though you hate dried prunes? I can tell. Not always, but often.’ Tony felt mildly concerned. ‘But really. How did the meeting go?’

 

Tony let the back of his head hit the cushions as well, rolling his head to one side to meet Loki’s gaze. It was a crisp cloudless night outside, fitting for an early december. The TV was turned to mute and Tony noticed how everything in the house was quiet. Not smothering quiet (which he used to fend off with loud music and alcohol before, or at least attempt to), just quiet. He could hear Loki breathing, slow and steady. Suddenly he felt the urge to light a bonfire on the porch outside and admire the light dancing across Loki’s cheeks; he dismissed the thought just as fast. 

 

Tony realised he was tired to the bone. Just draping himself over Loki and resting his head on the other’s chest seemed like an absolute bliss to him; listening to Loki’s heart slowly thrumming away underneath him, feeling his breast rise and fall with each breath. 

 

Tony refrained. 

 

Instead, he just encircled one of the ankles in his lap with a loose fist.

 

‘Ah, the usual shit. Nothing I say seems to be working anymore, but Pepper will have my balls if I go ahead and push this through anyway. She’s all like ‘don’t go above the board, Tony’ and ‘you’re not a god, Tony’ and ‘put the best interests of the company ahead of your massive ego for once in your life, Tony’.’ He puffed an irritated breath but smiled anyway when he heard Loki snickering beside him. It was true, his Pepper imitations were getting pretty good. ‘But I feel like I’m backing into a wall very soon. I don’t know. I’m just so tired.’ In every sense of the word.

 

‘Oh, you poor thing.’ Loki was slowly crawling across the couch and into his lap, straddling his hips and slipping his hands into his hair. Despite his exhaustion, Tony felt the distant  _ want _ starting to lazily uncurl in his lower abdomen. ‘Maybe what you should do is  _ show them _ , instead of just telling. For example, you could change the power source of the headquarters for the arc reactor, make your point that this  _ actually works _ . And basically, it wouldn’t be exactly going above the board since you still personally own the tower and are free to do with it whatever you want.’

 

Tony wasn’t going to ask Loki how he knew that. Maybe green-eyes had given this situation some thought as well. 

 

He let his hands slide upwards over the jeans-covered thighs. ‘Yeah, this might actually work. I could play with that.’

 

Loki kissed him, dirty and hungry, palming at Tony’s crotch with the free hand currently not fisted in his hair. ‘I’ve got something else I want to play with.’

 

Looks like little Tony didn’t give a rat’s ass about the rest of him almost ready to pass out right here on the couch. Loki did  _ things _ to him. 

 

‘Lo, I…’ He was silenced by a finger on his lips.

 

‘Shh. Just let me, Anthony.’

 

Loki lowered his knees onto the carpet and kneeled between Tony’s legs. He ran his hands up and down his legs a few times, then let his fingers work open the belt and the fly, pulling down the pants enough to reveal Tony’s grey boxers. 

 

The man looked, mesmerised, as Loki bent closer to mouth at the bulge hidden by the thin cloth, dipping his tongue out from time to time, leaving wet patches in its wake to accompany the one forming where the crown of Tony’s cock was resting. Oh yes, this was really happening. 

 

By the time Loki managed to free his erection, one of Tony’s hands had already found its way into Loki’s hair, not yet pushing but gently insisting. Looks like sleep could wait a few minutes. 

 

As Loki’s tongue dipped out and lapped at his head, Tony was lost. As Loki ran his tongue up the length of his shaft and took him into his mouth, Tony was sure he was going to sink right through the couch and drift away. He closed his eyes for a second and let his head fall back, then opened them promptly again. The sight was far too delicious to miss - Loki’s long black hair held back from his face by Tony’s hand fisting it, his head bobbing slowly up and down; the pink tongue darting out to lick at the swollen head of Tony’s cock, a silver line of saliva connecting from Loki’s lips. 

 

Their eyes met and it felt like a spark to Tony, lighting him on fire. 

 

As Loki swallowed him down again, trying to take him whole and working his throat, doing  _ things _ again, Tony buried his free hand into the armrest of the couch, scrambling for his last scraps of self control not to thrust his hips up and take by force what he by now so desperately needed. 

 

The heat of Loki’s mouth was almost unbearable, wet and tight. And by god, the things he did with his tongue and throat, his hand pumping where his lips didn’t reach. It was enough to drive a better man crazy. Tony was already there. 

 

When Loki took his other hand to place it in his hair, Tony’s control finally slipped. He started guiding Loki’s head up and down, carefully at first but with green-eyes encouraging him on, he quickly increased the pace, fucking into Loki’s throat, going deeper and deeper every time. Hearing Loki’s choked and ragged moans, he knew this wasn’t going to last much longer.

 

Tony finally squeezed his eyes shut and within the last final, frantic thrusts, he was coming down Loki’s throat, the moan ripped out of him so raw and guttural that he felt it shudder through his lungs.

 

After a few moments (when he was sure his eyeballs weren’t going to fall out) he opened his eyes to look at Loki, still kneeling between his knees, wiping at the corner of his mouth. Suddenly, Tony caught on what it was that he had done, forcing Loki as he did.

 

‘Lo, are you okay? I’m so sorry.’ It came out as  _ Lo, aryoo ookah? I’mm so-sooo _ . His tongue felt like it was swollen. He probably had clamped down on it somewhere along the line, trying to cling to any piece of control he could muster.

 

Loki just smiled in that devilish way of his. ‘Please don’t. I love it when you play rough with me.’

 

He got up from his knees, tucking his spent cock back into his jeans and pulling up the fly.

 

‘Come now, let’s go to bed.’

 

Tony pulled him by his shirt in for a quick kiss and let himself be guided upstairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that it's a shortie, but I figured I kept you waiting long enough. And for that I cry your pardon, big-big.  
> But I DO have a very good reason for it as I was busy working on my thesis (two in 2,5 years, can you believe it!?). I'm hoping to get more seriously back into this story now, honest!


	17. Chapter 17

‘You know, getting out of bed is not supposed to be as hard as it actually is.’

 

‘What do you mean?’

 

‘Like, we have to do it every day, yeah? To do anything useful, first we need to get out of bed. Or whatever it is that you are currently sleeping in. So wouldn’t it make more sense for it to be easier?’

 

‘Are you sure you’re feeling okay? You’re not high, are you?’ The words might have been meant as biting, but you could hear the thick amusement in Loki’s voice. He was definitely in a good mood. (And why wouldn’t he be?)

 

Tony flashed him a winning smile, the one that was half-laced with the crazy underneath. ‘I might be.’

 

They were lying on Tony’s bed in the relative darkness of the room; the only source of light were the overhead hidden panels, turned way down low. Loki’s head was resting on Tony’s stomach, his feet dangling over the side of the mattress, the blanket tangled around them. 

 

It was still early - way too early to be up. There was almost an hour until Tony’s alarm clock. How they even got up at this hour was a mystery, but it may have had something to do with a horny Loki who made a habit out of waking with the sun (now that he had his sleeping schedule finally worked out). After some tumbling around, they had settled down with a comfortable silence between them, Tony messing absentmindedly with some hologram or other; Loki just staring up at the ceiling, trying to catch the sound of the wind outside. 

 

He didn’t hear any, of course. Loki had hidden it from Tony ever since their little ‘picnic’ outside, but he desperately missed the freedom he had just weeks ago taken for granted. He found himself staring out the window at random times, expecting to feel the bite of the cold on his fingers and his hair tickling the skin on his neck as wind whipped it around. Only to remind himself that it wasn’t real. Sometimes it felt to him like nothing was; he was just waiting to wake up in his old bed in the middle of the night, confused and with an aching heart. Letting himself feel just a moment of regret, right before the sound of passing traffic and Frandal’s whistling snoring brought him back to himself. But the days went by and Loki still didn’t wake up. So instead of waiting for his luck to turn, Loki did what he was good at - he devised a plan that would at least leave him a silver strand of hope (if executed to the fullest and with painstaking precision) of keeping Tony and set the plan in motion, working on it every waking hour he could spare. 

 

He was sharp and calculating by nature, more than most people gave him credit for. 

 

‘Maybe I should build something.’

 

Loki laughed. It got him out of the spiralling reverie he was heading towards. ‘Foolish man. That’s my job kicking you out in the mornings!’ And he was good at it, if Loki may say so himself.

 

_ And for how long, darling? _

 

It almost slipped out.

 

‘You know, for a man of science and logic, you talk a lot of rubbish.’

 

‘Oh yeah? Well I hate to break it to you, sunshine, but I don’t think you’re in any place to talk so highly, either.’

 

Loki puffed out a small whiff of air and dragged his nails lightly across Tony’s shin. ‘What the bloody hell do you mean by that? I always know what I’m doing.’ He felt Tony shudder and shake the leg underneath his hands. Yes, Loki was aware that it was ticklish.

 

‘Oh yeah? Then how did you end up  _ here _ , Megamind?’

 

‘Devious planning, Anthony.’

 

Tony slowly got up on his elbows, a sceptical smile plastered on the corners of his mouth. ‘Oh yeah?’

 

Loki suddenly had a ominously enigmatic smirk on his lips. 

 

‘Of course, Anthony. Save for the exile. I had no intention of going into hiding as I am right now.’

 

Tony pushed the blanket out of the way and twisted himself to rest his head on his elbow so he could observe Loki’s expressions. The right hand immediately found its way into the man’s hair. Now this was bound to be interesting.

 

‘So, tell me. How  _ did _ you plan to tag and bag me?’

 

‘Bag you? No, I liked to think of it more as an Operation: Seduction type of thing.’

 

Besides a small smile, Loki’s face gave away nothing. Oh, Tony was burning with curiosity. 

 

‘I had heard about you, of course. And the fact that you were teaching at the school I was about to attend. It wasn’t the reason I came. I wasn’t terribly impressed. Still the fame you had around the school… I must admit, it makes a person curious. But after the first time I saw you, the way you talked and held yourself, your heartbreaker eyes and skintight shirt... I knew I had to have you. Anything else wasn’t really an option.’

 

Tony couldn’t keep the smile off his face. Hearing this now made him feel giddy and mighty proud of himself, a huge stroke to his ego. He couldn’t keep his legs still.

 

‘It was purely sexual at first. I just  _ really _ wanted to fuck you.’ Hearing Loki say things like that in his posh british accent did wonderful things to Tony. ‘So I was a blatant flirt. But the more we got talking and the more I saw you… I guess I got fascinated. Jealous, even. I wanted to get to know you better, be the only one on your mind.’ Loki paused, a sharp smile tugging at the side of his lips, eyes seemingly far away. ‘I devised a plan, a five-step program, if you will. First thing I needed to do was capture your attention. Which wasn’t all that hard, actually.’

 

Tony had to admit (with some reluctance), that green-eyes was right. ‘Got me there, I guess. You,’ a small kiss to Loki’s stomach, ‘are impossible’ another one on his ribs, ‘to resist.’ Tony reached up and gave Loki a wet kiss on his lips, which made Loki’s smile widen as he pulled the man on top of him down for another one. 

 

‘Oh, I was counting on it.’

 

‘So then what? You started stalking me, until we met at that nightclub one night?’

 

Tony was teasing.

 

‘No, Anthony. That, believe it or not, was entirely unintentional. A happy coincidence, but coincidence all the same. Still it definitely worked in my favor, wouldn’t you say so?’

 

Tony had a quick flashback to the night, how he was hellbent on finding someone like Loki to take back to the hotel after the man himself had left. The shock in the morning and the guilt that followed. But in retrospect, it  _ had _ worked in Loki’s favor, if only a little. God knew the forbidden fruit was all the sweeter.

 

‘Anyway, once I got your attention, the next thing was about finding (or more likely creating) a common secret to share, making you feel like I was indebted to you. The teacher’s party, for example. I knew that if anyone were to figure out what actually happened, it would be you Anthony. I was almost sure you would keep it a secret, but if you hadn’t… It was a risk I was more than willing to take. Making you think I was vulnerable to you only, it makes people feel special. After that the time was right to start working on trust. Keeping your secrets in turn, helping out a little here and there. Letting you ‘into the loop’ as you Americans would say. With your car for example. The small things that eventually came together as something bigger.’

 

‘Oh yeah, the poop-accident. I wondered how you did it.’

 

Loki rolled his eyes like explaining it was a waste of time. (To him probably seemed like it was.) ‘Bird seed, Anthony. Lots and lots. In the teacher’s parking lot. The easiest prank there is. Anyway, on the third step, my plan was interrupted by circumstances I couldn’t be held responsible for.’ That made Tony smirk to himself.  _ Oh really now? _ ‘The fourth step would have been getting you to feel indebted to me in some way in return, a chance for me to justify the trust I had gained. The abundance of harmful habits you possessed would have made this one quite easy. The fifth and final step would have been a confrontation of sorts. Combined with the not-so-subtle flirting and sexual innuendos, I’m almost positive I would have succeeded in my plan.’ If it weren’t for you meddling drug lords, har-har. ‘But this worked out as well.’

 

Tony was, for once in his life, at loss for words. He didn’t know whether to be flattered or offended. He opened his mouth a few times as if to say something but closed it after brief consideration.

 

‘Not what you expected? If you feel manipulated, I do apologize. But you did ask.’

 

Tony was done looking at Loki. Instead, he focused on the pattern of the curtains. Green-eyes was right. He did feel manipulated. Would it have been better if he hadn’t known? Maybe. There was no telling now. 

 

‘I just don’t know what to say right now.’

 

‘Anthony? Tony, look at me.’ Loki reached out one limber hand and gently forced Tony to face him. His eyes were filled with worry. ‘I never meant to offend you, but if I did, forgive me. Nevertheless, it is who I am. I’ve never liked leaving anything to chance if something matters to me. And you do. The only reason I told you any of this was to make you see how much I worked for you. I’ve never chased anyone like this before. Okay?’

 

This didn’t make Tony feel much better, but he thought he understood. So he nodded and let Loki crawl closer and scoop him up in his arms, let him bury his face in Tony’s hair and draw lazy patterns on his chest (which actually  _ did _ make him feel a little better).

 

He was almost asleep when his alarm clock went off. Loki pretended not to notice. 

 

‘Come on, bed wizard, let’s get up. Without you, who would make me pancakes in the morning?’

  
  


\------------------------

 

Everything was lost again. How was that even possible, Tony didn’t know. The graded papers he was so sure he put  _ somewhere totally logical _ , his notebook that was supposed to be in his briefcase and of course the keys, which he swears were on the window sill just yesterday!

 

...Or was it the day before?

 

‘Lokes! Where are my stuff?! This doesn’t make any sense!’

 

Loki was sitting at the kitchen counter, drinking tea and reading a newspaper. He had his hair still wrapped in a towel and Tony’s bathrobe was a little too wide for him. (Tony loved it.)

 

He rolled his eyes and got up from the chair, mumbling to himself. Come and eat you senile old man, I’ll go get them.’

 

A few minutes later, Loki was casually strolling into the kitchen, Tony’s briefcase already packed and ready to go. There must be some dark magic involved, surely. 

 

‘Oh my god Lo, I don’t know what I’d do without you. I’d be dead in 48 hours, most likely.’

 

Loki gave him a charming smile. ‘Don’t say things like that, Tony.’ The smile didn’t quite reach his eyes this time. ‘I also put some of my assignments in your study, please try not to lose them.’

 

‘What assignments?’

 

‘Biology, chemistry, things like that.’

 

‘Biology? Isn’t that one due in like three weeks or something?’

 

He stood behind Tony and ran his hands through the man’s hair, pulling his head against his own chest. ‘Guess I got bored. Your hair’s still wet. You’ll catch a cold like that.’ 

 

‘Yeah, and then you’d have to nurse me back into health.’ He had time for one more sandwich.

 

‘Don’t count on it.’ 

 

Loki’s hands trailed their way down his neck and down the front of his shirt, mapping the muscle underneath with open palms, pressing into the skin. Loki rested his jaw on Tony’s hair and looped his forearms around the man’s chest in a not-so-loose hug. 

 

Tony finished the last of his coffee (in an awkward position as not to disturb Loki) and stroked the hands around him. 

 

‘I should get going.’

 

Loki didn’t answer, only removed himself and went into the hallway, waiting for Tony to follow. The man got into his coat and wrapped the scarf around him, giving Loki a wet kiss and grabbing his briefcase. 

 

‘Anthony?’

 

He stopped between an open door and turned back. ‘Yes, Lokes?’

 

Loki crossed the hallway in quick steps, placed both hands on Tony’s cheeks and pulled him into a passionate kiss, stealing the older man’s breath away. The kiss didn’t last long, but it was filled with such fire, both of them pulling each other closer, hard teeth and soft lips, tongues slipping from one mouth to another.

 

‘Go. And be good now, okay?’

 

‘Sure.’

 

The day went by quickly enough. Friday always was the busiest, Tony (and the students) desperately trying to finish whatever work he could as to leave as little work as possible for the oncoming weekend. He tried texting Loki a few times, but all he got as a reply was ‘ _ Work, Tony _ ’ and a video snap of him sending an air kiss and a wink. Tony saved it.

 

Truth be told, he was busy as it was. 

 

It was already past five , but Tony was still stuck in a faculty meeting, discussing the organization of the school christmas party. Okay,  _ Tony _ was throwing little pieces of paper at Bruce, who was for once in as playful a mood as his friend. Guess they were both bored out of their minds. 

 

Tony kept tearing away the corners of his freshly printed senior exams, balling them up between his fingers and lunging them at Bruce, sometimes using a ruler he nicked out of the art teacher’s pencil case to create a makeshift catapult. Sometimes he hit his target, but mostly the catapult missed. He briefly considered converting his pen into a spitball machine, but that sounded too childish even for him. And gross.

 

In return Bruce was using the reflective surface of a pocket mirror (remember to ask why the hell he has something like that!) and the flashlight on his phone to try and blind Tony, throwing off his aim more than once. It was immensely fun, and the fact that Steve-O was giving them the stink eye the whole duration of the meeting made things even better. 

 

‘Okay folks, I think the student committee can take it from here. I guess I’ll see you next week, and don’t forget to write down in the teacher’s lounge in advance how many family members you’ll be bringing with you.’

 

As if Tony had anyone to bring. He was thinking that maybe he wouldn’t go to the party this year at all. Perhaps he and Loki could go somewhere instead, Miami or maybe Las Vegas? Europe?

 

‘I’ll see you, man.’ It was Bruce, pulling back the collar of Tony’s shirt and dumping a handful of paper balls down the opening as he passed. That bastard.

 

‘Oh I’ll make you regret that!’ It was finally time to pack up and head home. 

 

\-----------------------

 

The lights in the driveway were on but the house itself seemed dark. Tony unlocked the front door and let himself in, turning on the lights as he made his way down to the lab. He had a great idea about the arc reactor he was going to build for SI headquarters. He’d been toying with the idea ever since Loki proposed it. Now it seemed ripe enough.

 

‘Hey J, where’s Loki? Not in the study again?’

 

Now where did he put that holographic pen? He should really do a little cleaning up here.

 

‘Master Loki has left, Sir.’

 

Goddamn wrenches were everywhere. He dropped one on his toe and cursed. ‘What do you mean left? He’s out in the garden? Really?’

 

‘I’m afraid not, Sir. Master Loki left the premises at 13.18 today.’

 

That made Tony stop. The wrench still in his hand slipped through his fingers and landed on the floor with a loud clank! sound. He didn’t notice. 

 

‘He’s gone, Sir. I’m sorry.’

 

No, it couldn’t be. How? Why?  _ Why now? _ Tony started slowly shaking his head without himself realising he was doing it. 

 

‘Shall I pull up the last video footage?’ Tony didn’t reply, but Jarvis did so anyway.

 

The screen closest to him started showing Loki’s bedroom (except that it  _ wasn’t _ anymore, was it?), the man moving about the room, bringing some bottles from the bathroom, then folding his clothes and placing them inside one of Tony’s duffle bags. Acting like a man with a purpose, his movements calculated and face set in stone. 

 

Tony’s mind absently registered that green-eyes was wearing the same white V-neck that he had given him on the first day. The same T-shirt that was a little too large on that slender frame. 

 

The whole ordeal only took him five minutes or so, after which Loki slung the bag over his left shoulder and slid those mirrored sunglasses into his hair. He stopped between the bedroom door, his hand still resting on the handle. 

 

‘Jarvis?’ His voice sounded distant and flat coming from the lab speakers. Tony leaned closer to the screen, unaware.

 

‘Yes, master Loki?’

 

He seemed to be having some inner discussion with himself. ‘Tell Tony that I…’ 

 

Loki never finished the sentence. Following a few more seconds of some internal conflict, he just shook his head to himself and closed the door behind him. After that, the camera feed kept skipping from one angle to the other, following Loki as he made his way from the second floor all the way to the front gate, where the cameras finally lost sight of him. Not once looking back.

 

There was no denying it now. The drawers upstairs were empty and the lights off. Loki was gone.

 

Tony slowly stumbled backwards until his feet struck the old sofa in the corner of the lab. He let himself slide to a sitting position and rested his elbows on his knees, head hung.

 

‘Jarvis?’

 

‘Yes, sir?’

 

‘This is what heartbreak looks like.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well there you have it. It couldn't have last forever.  
> I finally have this breaking point written down (although this chapter fought me most of the way) and I feel like I'm closing in on the finish line with this fic. But there's still some way to go!


	18. Chapter 18

_ ‘Be good now, okay?’ _

 

_ ‘Sure.’ _

 

It kept playing over and over in Tony’s head, making him want to scream one moment, cry the next. 

 

_ ‘Sure.’ _

 

Well that had been a lie. Being good was very far from it. He was still huddled on the same old couch, several empty glass bottles littering the floor around him. Those bottles had once been filled with several sorts of expensive liquor, now all that was left was the lingering smell. If someone had asked what Tony was drinking in the moment that he had been doing it, he probably couldn’t have answered. It all tasted the same. 

 

_ ‘-good now, okay?’ _

 

_ Miserable _ was what he was. He hadn’t cried. Not a single tear had rolled down his cheek and Tony prided himself on that. But he did know that he felt absolutely miserable and heartbroken. Literally heartbroken. There was a sour ache inside his chest, one that seemed to be pulsating in sync with his breathing which had turned shallow and irregular for that same reason (among others).

 

Every time he remembered Loki’s smile, the ache trembled and surged. 

 

Mostly he tried to keep his mind blank. The alcohol helped on that part. Funny enough, Tony had no recollection of him getting the bottles. He was just sitting there on the sofa, trying (or maybe  _ not trying _ ) to process everything and the next time he blinked, he was holding a bottle of bourbon (or whiskey? vodka?) and was already half through it. So he saw no reason to stop. Hadn’t even thought about it, to be honest. It wasn’t as if drinking alone in his lab was anything new for Tony Stark.

 

How come Tony had gotten used to Loki always being there so quickly? Somehow the house he had lived in for years didn’t feel like a home to him anymore. Had it felt like a home before Loki?

 

Who knew?

 

It was such a terrible cliche that Tony had scoffed at himself for even thinking about it, but it was painfully true - you never knew what you had before it was gone. 

 

After almost two days of spending drunk/passed out on the couch down in the lab, Tony was finally sobering up. And agonizingly hung over. Which meant that his thought process was rebooting. As much as he would have wanted to just spend all of his indefinite future hiding away and trying to forget, he knew he couldn’t. All of his obligations aside, what were he to say if someone came knocking, which they were bound to do once Tony failed to show up in school or pick up his phone amongst other things?

 

He had nothing.

 

Also he had no one else to blame except himself. Tony hadn’t told anyone about Loki, remember? Which meant absolutely no shoulders to cry on, either. Boo-hoo, poor him. Tony was supposed to be a genius, but getting involved with Loki must have been one of the most stupid stunts he had ever pulled. Seriously.

 

_ What were you thinking? _

 

Calling himself and the decisions he’d made stupid was only the logical thing to do, but his heart wasn’t really into it. Tony knew, without a second of doubt, that every moment he had spent with Loki had been amazing, even if he was too blind and self-absorbed to realize it before; knew that he would do it again in a heartbeat when given a chance.  _ Just given a chance. _

 

Still, self-pity was getting him nowhere.

 

‘Jarvis? Was I supposed to go after him?’

 

They had never watched any, but it seemed to be a concurring (and successful) theme in all of the romantic chick-flicks they showed on Showtime on Saturday evenings.

 

‘Jarvis?’

 

Still nothing. 

 

‘Mute?’

 

‘Thank you, sir. As to your question, I am not sure.’

 

Of course Jarvis knew. He had been studying Loki’s expressions and behavior for a longer period of time now and had gotten quite good at it (better than both Tony and Loki ever seemed to suspect). On the other hand, he had also been studying Tony and he had a fairly good estimation on how he would react if stripped away of that little piece of hope he still had. As ever, J’s top priority was Tony’s health and wellbeing. 

 

‘Of course. Yes. I need to find him.’ More mumbling to himself than voicing any coherent thought. 

 

Tony half rolled, half pushed himself into a standing position, feeling his head start to swim and pound, making him bend over dry-retching for a second. He managed to keep the contents of his stomach to himself and stood up again, more slowly this time. 

 

‘Okay, Jarvis, track Loki’s phone.’ 

 

‘I don’t have to, sir. He left his phone in his room.’

 

It was to be expected, but still hurt a little. The phone had been a gift, one Tony had made himself. But it didn’t take a genius to figure out how easy it would have been for Tony to track someone with a StarkPhone. 

 

‘All right. Umm… turn it off, then. Let U gather up everything that Loki left lying around and take it to his room. The guestroom I mean. And- let U power down as well and lock the door.’ 

 

Giving the order to turn off U was difficult. His robots were like his babies, but U wasn’t  _ only his _ . It had to be done. Tony had been in bad places before and he knew how to deal with stuff like that (or at least he thought he knew).

 

After that was done, he started tracking Loki. Again. 

 

After hours of digging Tony found that Loki had taken a cab downtown - payed cash, never said a word the cabbie swore - after which he had walked around town almost aimlessly for half an hour. Of course, Tony wasn’t entirely sure, because the public cameras were of poor quality and Loki had a knack of avoiding them. Next came the bus terminal on rush hour - it took Tony almost two hours to process through the entire video material. Loki went into the men’s room (no cameras there) and never came out. At least not as far as Tony or Jarvis could see. It was like searching a needle in a haystack. 

 

The airports and and seaports were next. He wasn’t on any passenger lists either. Just to be safe, Tony gave Jarvis strict orders to keep his virtual eye on them. 

 

‘What’s left, then? The tablet. What was he doing on it all the time?’

 

‘I cannot say, sir.’

 

‘What? Why?’

 

‘I’m afraid master Loki deleted all data from my servers involving his personal tablet and phone usage.’

 

Tony was speechless for a moment. His headache (which had been mellowing in the last hour) came rushing back. ‘How the fuck did he manage that?! I didn’t authorize any of that!’

 

‘Master Loki had first level resident access I’m afraid.’

 

He let out a frustrated scream which almost seemed to waver and break at the end. Well, that was that. There was no point in being mad at J either - Tony himself had insisted on upgrading Loki’s access levels. He should have pried more. Should have, could have. It was a bitter thought. Of course he couldn’t have made Loki tell anything he wasn’t going to tell himself sooner or later, but there was always the  _ what if _ , wasn’t there?

 

‘Motherfuck!’ It left Tony in a rush, after which a sense of hopelessness settled in. ‘Then what am I supposed to do now?’

 

‘May I suggest sleep? I’m sure you will have better ideas in the morning, sir. Besides, you still need to go to work tomorrow.’

 

Yes. That sounded like a plan. What Tony needed to do right now was keep himself busy to fend the destructive thoughts away (which were bound to follow him everywhere). Take a shitload of sleeping pills, pass out on his bed and tomorrow start working like crazy. 

 

_ Totally  _ a healthy coping mechanism.

  
  


\-----------------------

  
  


It actually wasn't all that bad. By the time Tony woke up, Jarvis had made sure that all traces of Loki were gone, the door to his room closed and locked. It was almost as if he hadn’t even been there. Which suited Tony just fine - you can’t break down over things you don’t think about. He drank three cups of coffee and bought a sandwich from the gas station on his way to school. 

 

Tony had a feeling he wouldn’t be visiting Christine any time soon. 

 

In between (and during) the lessons he started working on the new blueprints for the arc reactor. Bugging Bruce whenever he got the chance. After school - hit the gym with Clint. No beers afterwards. Might loosen his tongue. Get home, crack open a fresh bottle of whatever, turn on the music and work in the lab until he passed out. Come morning - repeat.

 

Easy as pie.

 

After four days, Tony had himself pretty much convinced that he could actually do this - as long as he kept his coffee cups and alcohol bottles full at all times and his mind racing. He hadn’t thought about the stronger stuff yet (hadn’t in  _ years _ , actually), but at this rate it was bound to happen. Sooner rather than later. 

 

Just don’t think about Loki. He said he would leave. And he did. Without any warning. Tony had decided that he hated green-eyes for that. He had done all that he could think of without actually breaking his promise (but oh, in the early hours of the mornings, he was  _ so _ tempted) and he hated that as well. Hated that he cared. Caring always lead to getting hurt. 

 

Hadn’t he learned that already?

 

It was obvious his friends had started to notice something was not right. But he had been like this before. Not as bad, maybe, but it wasn’t by no means anything new. Tony managed to brush things off as just his eccentric nature and the thrill of a new project. Still he started to distance himself from people. Even when he hadn’t changed anything at first sight, he changed the things that really mattered. 

 

But he was  _ totally alright.  _ He was prepared. 

 

Except when he wasn’t. 

 

‘Okay Jarvis, let them know to have the package ready for pickup in the next 20 minutes, I’m coming over. If they don’t have it, I want to see some heads fly. All of my project is postponed because I didn’t have those damn tubes when I said I needed them. Those incompetent fuckers.’

 

Tony threw on his jacket and the darkest sunglasses he had. He wasn’t exactly sober enough to drive, but he didn’t care. He  _ needed _ to get back to working. Otherwise---

 

‘I think I’m gonna take the R8, J. It’s been a while.’

 

The engine whirred alive even before Tony got to the car. He backed out of the garage and was just about to drive off when something caught his eye. Something dark on the car dashboard, reflecting the white clouds through the windshield. 

 

Tony felt his heart speed up and his eyes start to prickle as he picked them up. Loki’s sunglasses. The very same he had found the kid wearing that day at the park, the ones he wore to hide the ugly bruise underneath. 

 

That was the moment when everything finally came tumbling down for Tony. The first of many sobs escaped his throat as bitter tears started down his cheeks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those that don't remember, Christine was the barista at Tony's favorite coffee shop - the one in front of which Loki ambushed him once upon a time.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bruce is a real bro, I tell you guys

The first three days were the worst. If Tony stopped working for even a second, all of his thought process would shut down and he’d lose any motivation he’d managed to save. Tony felt… depressed. He hadn’t turned up at the school - surely Jarvis must of given them a pretty good excuse; he was only picking up Pepper’s calls because otherwise the next step would be her knocking at the lab door. 

 

He had tried almost every single method of finding Loki (again) with no results. It was unbelievable. Impossible, even, at least Tony would have thought so before. 

 

So many times he almost pulled up the local police database just to find that damn shithead Loki used to call his ‘employer’ and beat some answers out of him. But he couldn’t. He still hated it. Some promises weren’t meant to be broken, it seemed. 

 

With the frustration of not being able to find Loki, resentment settled in. At first, he was angry with the quality of public cameras, then with the local databases, then with Jarvis. After realising how unfair  _ that  _ was, he was angry with himself. For being a failure, for driving Loki away. 

 

But in the end, he was angry at green-eyes himself. For making Tony like him, open his home to him (not to mention his bed), making Tony almost depend on him and then just leaving like all of this never meant anything. For being such a  _ manipulative bastard _ . Because that’s what he was, Tony saw that now. Always taking, never giving him anything in return. In his bitterness, Tony was good at convincing himself. Eventually he kept on looking for Loki half out of spite just to tell the man himself what he thought of, well… everything. 

 

But in the end, Tony was still bested. And that made him even angrier. He was angry, depressed and heartbroken. Still heartbroken.

  
  


\----------------

  
  


‘Sir, there is a guest at the gate.’

 

Tony didn’t rise his eyes from the work in front of him. Didn’t even register the first two times Jarvis said it. 

 

‘Sir? It’s doctor Banner. He seems worried.’

 

‘I don’t care. No visitors.’ Back to his work. Hurry.

 

There was silence for a few minutes. ‘Sir, doctor Banner is standing at the lab door. May I let him in?’

 

Tony threw the screwdriver against the wall. He was developing quite a temper. ‘What the fuck Jarvis? I said no visitors!’

 

Jarvis remained silent. Now was not the time to voice his concerns for Tony’s mental and physical well-being. His patience (can an AI have patience?) payed off. ‘Fine. Let him in.’

 

Tony resigned himself to his chair and tried to look as presentable as possible. It wasn’t very much, to tell the truth. Bruce stepped cautiously into the lab, taking in the look of Tony and his surroundings, but keeping everything to himself. There was no need to say anything, they both knew it. One could easily deduce the state of him from the haphazard state of the lab, empty bottles and obviously  (occasionally) well-used cot in the corner. Tony’s bloodshot eyes, hollow cheeks and twitching legs. At least his hands were still steady, thank god for small mercies. 

 

‘Tony? Hey man, how have you been?’ He took another chair and sat himself opposite of Tony. Not too close to seem threatening, but enough to be involved in his space. Tony tried a smile. It felt wrong on his lips, surely looked more like grimace than anything else.

 

‘Hey. I’m… busy.’ He just couldn’t bring himself to say  _ I’m fine _ .

 

Bruce smiled. It suited him better. ‘I can see that. We all missed you at school. Not just the teachers, the students too. When are you coming back in?’

 

‘I don’t know.’ He started fidgeting, eyes jumping around the lab, his legs spinning the chair one way and another. ‘Soon. I guess.’

 

‘Tony.’ Bruce reached forward and put one hand on Tony’s knee to make him stop. ‘ _ Are you okay? _ ’

 

Tony just stared at the man, working his throat. ‘No,’ he eventually whispered, shaking his head. ‘No.’ He couldn’t force out anything else. 

 

Next thing Tony knew, he was hugging Bruce. It felt good, having some human contact again. He had avoided it ever since Loki left. Bruce was patting him strongly on the back, a real  _ manly _ hug. It grounded him again somewhat.

 

‘It’s okay, you know. Not being fine sometimes.’ They disentangled. ‘Come on. When was the last time you ate something? I’ll see if I can whip up something.’

 

Bruce ushered Tony upstairs to the kitchen and sat him down behind the dining table. In a few minutes, two cups of tea and some sandwiches appeared in front of him. Despite Tony feeling nauseous, his stomach growled. He stuffed one of them into his mouth, followed by a gulp of scorching tea, just to have something to do. He was starting to feel uncomfortable. It was unpleasant being so vulnerable in front of somebody. He hadn’t had an audience to his breakdowns so far and he wasn’t going to start now. 

 

‘Did you break up with her? The one you’ve been seeing?’

 

Tony stopped chewing to stare at Bruce. He must of looked absolutely dumbstruck because Bruce just smiled awkwardly and shrugged. ‘It was not that hard to see. Actually it was Steve who thought about it first. You know, despite of what you may think, we are your friends, Tony. We do care about you.’ This time, the smile on Tony’s lips came a little easier. 

 

‘I know. Thank you. Really.’

 

‘I know it may seem like total bullshit right now, but life  _ does  _ go on. And if the person wasn’t smart enough to realise how lucky they were to have you then… tough shit.’

 

That actually made Tony cheer up, if just a little. Bruce knew that he loved it when the man swore. He took another sandwich.

 

‘And you know what? Tomorrow, you’re gonna come back to teaching and you’re gonna live through this last week of school like the indestructible bastard that you are. Then we’re gonna go to the school Christmas party on Friday, we’re gonna have a good time and afterwards you’re coming with me to finally visit my parents like you’ve promised for the last three years. They never shut up about you, you know that?’ Bruce chuckled. ‘Okay?’

 

‘Sure. That sounds good.’ 

 

‘So, do you want me to stay here for tonight or come over to my place?’

 

Tony finished the last of his sandwich and took a look at his watch. Slowly he was feeling more human than he had in almost two weeks. ‘Thanks man, but I think I’ll be alright. You’re right. I should just call it a night and turn in if I want to look half-decent tomorrow.’

 

‘You sure?’

 

‘Positive. But thanks, man. I really mean it.’

 

‘Don’t mention it.’ They shared another brief hug/shoulder-bump before Bruce turned to leave. ‘And don’t forget, Tony. This year!’

 

‘Sure thing, Bruce.’ But he already had his own plans. 

  
  


\--------------------------

  
  


‘Is there anything else I could do to boost my grade, Mr. Stark?’

 

‘Um, just get this to me by five o’clock today, should be plenty of time for you to do it. You’re painfully late with all of this.’ Probably was plucking up the courage all these days. ‘That should be enough.’

 

God, she was never leaving. Just standing there in front of Tony’s desk, twirling her bracelet and picking the hem of her skirt. Trying for a seductive smile but pulling off only a poor parody of-- well, you know. 

 

‘Are you sure? I really need that grade, I’d be willing to do  _ all _ the work. Even after class. Just say the word, Mr. Stark’

 

Ugh.

 

‘Yep. Positive. That’s it. Run along now. Skidaddle or whatever.’

 

Tony unceremoniously pushed the girl out of the classroom and pulled the door closed behind her. Then sat down on the first desk and pulled out his phone. Replayed the snap of Loki sending him a wink and a kiss. God only knew how many times he had caught himself staring at it in the last few days. He was even watching old surveillance footage of the two of them cooking or just watching TV together. He couldn’t bring himself to play one of the more…  _ intimate _ videos of them, somehow it felt like cheating to him. Still didn’t mean Tony didn’t have visions of Loki, lying alone in his bed late at night with his hard cock in his palm, hoping sleep would come easier if he could just get one off.

 

Sometimes it did. Mostly it just made his life harder. 

 

Tony was so sick of people. Of students and faculty alike. It was especially hard putting up a pleasant face for his friends. There, he said it. Friends.

 

Everyone except Bruce were almost tip-toeing around him. Even principal Fury came to say hello at one point, bringing him an awkward cup of coffee. I mean, the way he bought it was awkward - he never brought anyone anything (unless you were Maria Hill). The coffee itself wasn’t actually that bad. Steve randomly patted Tony on the shoulder in the hallway and gave him a long sympathetic looks. He was tired of it.

 

But Tony had kept his promise. He had (pretty much) sobered up and returned to his duties. Was still working like a maniac most of the time, but that was generally nothing new. Now all that was left was to live through this last day of school and... Then what? Tony had two weeks to himself, he guessed. To work some stuff out, hopefully get his head back on straight. How he was going to do this, he had no idea. But Tony Stark had always been good at improvising. Act now, think later, remember?

 

By five o’clock he was packing up his stuff, rummaging through his drawers and boxes just in case. A knock at the open door made him stop and look up.

 

‘Hey Bruce! What’s up?’ 

 

‘Just came to see what our plans were for the evening. What are you doing?’

 

‘Just checking if I need to take something with me or, you know. Homework over the break, right?’ He actually managed a laugh. ‘I was planning on going home right now, take a shower and change my clothes. Pack the bags.’

 

‘Yeah, sure. No problem. I’ll see you at the party then. At eight!’

 

Tony listened as Bruce’s steps faded down the hall. ‘Sure thing. At eight.’

 

He just threw his phone and laptop into his bag and snapped it shut. Suddenly he couldn’t wait to get moving. The girl he gave the extra credit work hadn’t showed as well. Huh. Guess she didn’t care that much about her GPA after all. Go figure.

 

In 30 minutes he was home and packing his bags. There wasn’t that much to bring, actually. His toothbrush, clean socks probably. A few of the more complete prototypes of the arc reactor. Some sweaters to keep them from clattering. He took a last sweep over the bedroom. Sure looked like everything. 

 

Tony’s phone was lying on the kitchen counter. He picked it up. Replayed one last time the snap of Loki, then deleted it. Quickly, as if not to give himself time to change his mind. This was the first step. Not the hardest one, sure, but one had to begin from somewhere.

 

He was at the hall pulling on his shoes when Jarvis spoke up. 

 

‘Sir, there is a guest at the gate.’

 

Well, shit. Should have known better than to try and fool Bruce. The clever bastard was probably there to make sure Tony was still keeping to his word. Oh well, there was no turning back now. Tony had made up his mind and the only thing left to do now was to apologize to his friend.

 

He stepped out of the front door, but was left there standing, frozen in place. The wind ripped the handle from his grip and flew the door against the wall with a loud crash. 

 

That wasn’t Bruce. It was Loki. His hair was beating around his face in the wind. He seemed to be freezing, lips turned blue. Standing out in just the white t-shirt and a sweater, it was no wonder. This year’s first flakes of snow had just started falling from the sky, spinning around in the darkness. Tony’s gym bag, up until now firmly clasped in Loki’s hand, fell to the ground. 

 

The sound of it hitting the driveway, barely audible, woke Tony from his trance. He sprinted towards Loki, his sneakers crunching on the frozen gravel. He came to a stop a few feet from green-eyes. Looking at him, but not really believing. 

 

‘Forgive me.’

 

Almost a whisper, it sounded drained. 

 

Tony threw his arms around him and pulled Loki into a hug. Pushing all of the younger man’s body flush against his, giving comfort as much as taking it. Just feeling him between his arms, making sure Loki was really there. Tony felt Loki’s trembling hands snake up his body, dragging him in. His cold face pressed itself against Tony’s exposed neck. He felt the slight dampness there, making his own eyes prickle.

 

‘Are you all right?’

 

‘Yes.’

 

Tony pulled away sharply and took a large step back. ‘Then where the hell have you been?!’

 


End file.
